/ 


\ 

/ 


\ 


*■■■ 

/ 

a 

o 

q 
Z 

\ 

.r.  .      « 

\ 

^      5 

3MI    • 

\ 

< 

5 

:iJAINn  3IU   • 

y 


/ 


O    VINllOillO  K>   o. 


«  SANTA  BARBARA  O 


3^ 


0   <0  MVDWI  »U   •. 


«   Of  CAUratMM    « 


i 


eO 


00 


«    lO  AVVUflll  3Hi    o 


o    THE  UNIVEllSITY    e 


5 

< 
a 


'^  &  NTA  BARaARA  «  , 


IME  UttAKV  Of    e 

3 


\ 


O    Of  CAUfOIMA    • 


i 


^ 


yo 


/ 


»  io  Ajfvaan  aw  ». 


e  vsvsavoviNvt « 


3 
% 

O    AilSOAINA  3Ht    • 


Ft  rL  ' 


«  THCUUlMVOf  « 


1-^ 

s: 

n 

ft    VINHOinO  40   «. 


o  SANTA  I 


a  ttC  untAftV  Of  o 


CP 


^i 


n 


yiNOO^ilv)  iO   ft 


3 


% 


o    At<$)l3AlNn  3H1   ft. 


•FORMA   e 


ft  n  Avwran  aia  « 


ft  SANTA  I 


\ 


e  INC  UtRARV  Of  e 

I 


C^ 


^i 


n 


/ 


3 

; 

ft    WMOmO  40   ft. 


O  THE  UNIVERSnv   e 

8 


U£ 


B 


ft  SANTA  ftARaARA  « 


o    Of  CAUrORNIA    o 


W 


CO 


fS; 


ft  w  Mivinn  ]Mt  ft. 


9 


Of  CAUfORNIA    o 


W 


eO 


3y^ 


ft  jO  Anviisn  3IU  ft 


O  THE  UMVERSnV   o 
& 

I 


/ 


ft  SANTA  BARBAaA  • 


\ 


0  txiWKAinf  Of  o 


C& 


ifiS 


r) 


«  viNttOino  40  o 


I 


/ 


The  Family 


An   Ethnographical  and   Historical   Outline  with  Descriptive 

Notes,   Planned  as  a  Text-book  for  the  Use  of 

College  Lecturers  and  of  Directors 

of  Home-readina:   Clubs 


By 

Elsie  Clews  Parsons,  Ph.D. 

Hartley  House  Fellow  and  Lecturer  in  Sociology, 
Barnard  College,  1899-1905. 


C50 


G.  P.  Putnam's  Sons 

New  York     and     London 

Zbc   "Rnicherbockcr  press 

1906 


Copyright,  1906 

BV 

ELSIE  CLEWS  PARSONS 


'^5^  *nfchcrbochCT  |>re00,  Hew  iporft 


fla 


LIBRARY 
UNIVERSITY  OF  CATJFORNIA 
y^  SANTA   BARBARA 


^ 


TO 

MY  DAUGHTER  AND  SON 


PREFACE 

IT  is  notable  that  almost  all  of  the  amazing  quick- 
ening- of  the  past  two  or  three  decades  in  the  art 
of  teaching  has  been  confined  to  kindergarten  and 
school.  College  teaching  has  changed,  of  course,  and 
to  a  considerable  extent  during  this  period,  but  the 
change  is,  for  the  most  part,  merely  a  reflex  from 
elementary  school-teaching ;  it  is  not  spontaneous. 
Through  the  demand  for  more  varied  interests  and 
more  direct  personal  observation  in  kindergarten  and 
school,  the  curriculum  of  the  college  has  also  been 
broadened  and  varied,  and  the  laboratory  has  en- 
croached upon  the  lecture  room.  Imitation  of  the 
ever-widening  university  curriculum  has  played  a  part 
here,  too.  The  purposive  indifference  to  pedagogic 
method  in  the  professional  schools  of  the  university 
has  also  been  widely  imitated  in  the  college.  This  lack 
of  spontaneous  development  in  college  instruction  has 
led,  together  with  other  factors,  to  the  swamping  of 
the  college  in  the  school  and  university.  This  is  not 
the  place  to  discuss  in  any  detail  the  relations  of 
these  three  agents  of  education.  It  is  plain,  however, 
that  if  the  college  is  to  be  continued  as  a  distinct  edu- 
cational agency  in  the  belief  that  its  training  and  in- 
spiration are  essential  to  scholarly,  effectual,  and  social 
habits  of  thought  and  work,  something  more  is  neces- 
sary than  its  mere  readjustment  in  the  time-table  of 
education.  Its  subjects  of  study  and  methods  of 
teaching  must  be  differentiated  from  those  of  school 


VI 


Preface 


and  university.  An  attempt  in  this  direction  is  one 
of  the  two  objects  of  this  text-book. 

The  systematic  study  of  particular  social  groups  Is 
peculiarly  fitted  for  the  college  curriculum.  The 
classification  of  social  facts  from  written  records  and 
personal  observation  demands  maturer  powers  of  ob- 
servation and  analysis  than  any  but  the  exceptional 
high  school  student  possesses.  Such  a  discipline  is, 
however,  on  the  other  hand,  essentially  preliminary 
to  university  work.  Much  of  the  effort  of  university 
students  in  sociology,  not  to  speak  of  other  subjects, 
is  futile  because  of  their  lack  of  training  in  scientific 
method.^ 

The  family  is,  for  several  reasons,  a  particularly 
well-chosen  subject  for  the  elementary  student  of  so- 
ciety. Many  of  the  facts  discussed  have  been  part  of 
his  or  her  personal  experience,  and  yet  so  different 
are  the  popular  and  the  scientific  points  of  view  in 
regard  to  social  facts  that  the  student's  power  of  ap- 
perception will  be  developed  through  numberless 
opportunities  to  consider  long-known  facts  in  wholly 
novel  relations  to  one  another.  The  subject  calls  for 
the  classification  of  a  pretty  definite  number  of  specific 
facts  ;  the  descriptive  work  may  be  well  defined  and 
concise.  And  yet  the  family's  function  and  structure 
are  so  closely  connected  with  the  social  organisation 
in  general  that  in  their  study  an  outlook  is  opened 
upon  other  social  groups  and  upon  the  working  of  far- 
reaching  social  laws. 

No  attempt  has  been  made  to  give  more  than  an 

'  Compare  Sleinmclz  :  Classification  des  types  sociaux  el  catalogue  des  petiples 
in  J.'ann/e  sociologiijuf,  1898-1899,  pp.  43-147,  for  this  failure  in  method  on 
the  part  of   sociologists  in  general. 


Preface 


Vll 


outline  of  the  topics  to  be  discussed  in  the  class-room. 
The  instructor,  therefore,  is  not  relieved  of  a  thorough 
study  of  the  subject  he  is  teaching.  A  text-book  can- 
not take  the  place  of  scholarship.  It  may,  however, 
serve  to  a  certain  extent  as  a  time-savingf  device. 
The  data  in  Notes  D,  for  example,  will  aid  the  in- 
structor as  a  check  upon  the  accuracy  and  complete- 
ness of  the  students'  analyses.  The  bibliographical 
notes  will  also  serve  as  time  economies.  In  other 
words,  this  text-book  aims  to  be  a  pedaoogic  device 
for  the  university  lecturers  who  are  so  commonly  called 
upon  to  conduct  elementary  courses  in  sociology. 
The  college  method  ought  to  be,  in  my  opinion,  pri- 
marily pedagogic,  but  the  borrowed  university  scien- 
tist, who  naturally  finds  this  additional  tax  of  college 
teaching  upon  his  already  overtaxed  time  irksome, 
slips,  as  I  have  already  suggested,  into  the  lecture  and 
seminar  method  of  the  university,  to  the  loss — and 
satisfaction — of  his  class. 

The  history  of  theory  has  been  purposely  omitted 
from  these  outlines.  Except  for  the  advanced  student, 
analysis  of  descriptive  data  is  more  profitable  than 
study  of  family  theory.  In  other  words,  in  studying 
the  family,  ethnography,  and  in  particular  ethnography 
as  it  touches  in  its  function  of  classification  upon  eth- 
nology, is  better  adapted  than  ethnology  proper  for 
the  elementary  student.  In  sociology,  for  example, 
as  in  other  sciences, the  habit  of  evolutionary  thought  is 
almost  too  readily  acquired  by  the  embryonic  scientist. 
Stages  of  development  are  clamoured  for  and  pursued. 
This  is  merely  one  of  the  innumerable  expressions  of 
the  mind's  classifying  habit,  a  habit  which  may  lead  to 
non  scientific  just  as  well  as  to  scientific  results.    Freed 


viii  Preface 

from  the  history  of  theory,  freed  also  from  illustra- 
tive facts,  the  latter  being  contained  in  Notes  D,  the 
lecture  outlines  are  reduced  to  the  presentation  of  a 
few  important  and  well-established  deductions  and  to 
schemes  of  classification. 

Notes  A  contain  references  to  fuller  discussions  of 
the  topics  than  that  given  in  the  lecture  outlines. 
References  to  especially  interesting  illustrative  data 
are  also  given  in  these  notes.  Notes  B  contain  brief 
summaries  of  theory  bearing  on  topics  in  the  lecture 
outlines.  These  notes  will  be  of  use  in  assigning 
special  tasks  to  the  student  who  is  exceptionally  quali- 
fied to  work  in  the  field  of  controversy.  Notes  C  con- 
tain further  suggestions  for  original  research  by  the 
advanced  student.  The  bibliographical  notes,  as  well 
as  the  list  of  authorities  given  in  the  Introductio7i, 
have  been  carefully  compiled  from  a  primarily  peda- 
gogic standpoint.  From  a  bibliographical  standpoint 
they  are  incomplete. 

^\\Q.  Introductio7i  suggests  methods  for  the  class  in- 
structor to  follow.  Through  the  analysis  of  written 
records  the  student  will  receive  training  in  the  use 
of  primary  sources  of  authority — one  of  the  chief 
requisites  of  scholarship.  The  plan  for  personal 
observation  of  a  small  number  of  families  has  many 
advantages  for  the  student, — the  training  of  his  fac- 
ulty of  observation  (a  faculty  that  is  lamentably  un- 
developed in  the  average  college  student ),  the 
development  of  social  tact  and  sympathy,  the  broad- 
ening of  his  interests  in  and  his  knowledge  of  his 
social  environment,  and,  consequently,  the  enlarging 
of  his  opportunities  for  usefulness  to  his  community. 
From  a   narrower  pedagogic  point  of  view  the  under- 


Preface  ix 

lying  object  of  both  plans  of  study  is  drill  in  the 
application  by  the  student  of  knowledge  acquired  in 
the  lecture  room.  The  averaofe  college  student  is 
mentally  lazy.  It  is  the  universal  experience  of  col- 
lege instructors  that  text-book  or  lecture-imparted 
information  is  rarely  assimilated  by  their  students. 
How  seldom  does  one  see  any  effort  to  apply  the 
facts  or  methods  learned  in  one  course  to  another 
course,  or  to  personal  experiences  outside  of  college 
walls.  The  college  note-book  is  a  kind  of  intellectual 
graveyard.  Unwillingness  to  think  in  concrete  terms 
is  another  evidence  of  this  mental  supineness.  A 
carefully  supervised  use  of  the  schedules  for  recording 
the  observations  of  the  families  visited  and  a  thought- 
ful classification  of  social  facts  noted  from  ethno- 
graphical or  historical  records  will  lead  the  student 
into  definite  and  concrete  ways  of  thinking.  Further- 
more, it  will  train  him  to  test  and  evaluate  evidence, 
— both  documentary  evidence  and  evidence  ^  that  has 
been  directly  acquired, — a  particularly  useful  lesson  for 
the  sociological  student. 

Ethical  considerations  have  been  relegated  to  a  dis- 
tinct lecture.  For  the  sake  of  ethical  thought  and 
practice,  if  for  nothing  else,  the  question  of  what 
ought  to  be  must  at  first  be  clearly  separated  from  the 
question  of  what  is.  The  confusion  of  these  two 
points  of  view  is  responsible  for  what  sometimes 
proves  to  be  distinctly  unethical  conduct. 

One  form  of  this  confusion  is  too  commonly  back  of 
the  widespread  unwillingness  in  modern  civilisation 
to  enlighten  boys  and  girls  in  many  matters  of  mar- 
riage and  parenthood.     It  is  hoped  that  where  outside 

*  See  pp.  16-19. 


X  Preface 

of  the  college  lecture  room  this  reluctance  Is  beginning 
to  disappear  this  text-book  maybe  of  use.  Unfort- 
unately, in  many  parts  of  our  country,  a  college  educa- 
tion is  not  yet  considered  as  necessary  or  as  desirable 
for  young  women  as  for  young  men.  The  supporters 
of  the  argument  that  the  place  for  girls  is  exclusively 
in  the  home  must  take  their  stand  on  the  ground  that 
the  home  education  given  to  girls  of  college  age,  seven- 
teen to  twenty-one,  is,  or  may  be,  superior  to  academic 
education  {plus  home  education  ),  ?'.  e.,  it  more  ade- 
quately trains  the  girl  for  her  future  life.  Perhaps 
this  text-book  will  prove  a  useful  guide  for  t\ie.iJitelli- 
ge7it  mothers  who  hold  this  view  of  the  value  of 
home-training  and  who,  single-hajided,  undertake  the 
responsibility  of  fitting  their  daughters  for  useful  and 
joyous  womanhood.  This  is  the  second  object  of 
this  text-book. 

General  unwillingness  to  learn  the  story  of  social 
origins  and  developments,  particularly  those  of  sexual 
and  familial  relations,  is  the  mental  attitude  of  the 
average  person.  It  is,  perhaps,  the  most  notable  of 
all  survivals  of  primitive  taboos  and  it  still  serves  the 
same  purpose  as  the  primitive  taboo,  i.  e.,  the  pre- 
servation of  the  group's  social  customs  and  traditions. 
To-day,  to  be  sure,  it  is  doing  this  only  to  a  limited  ex- 
tent. The  economic  and  legal  changesof  the  nineteenth 
century  in  family  structure  and,  more  significant  even 
than  these  changes,  contemporary  proneness  to  dis- 
cuss such  subjects  as  prostitution,  divorce,  etc., 
demonstrate  a  giving  way  of  familial  customs  and  tra- 
ditions. Curiously  enough,  where  such  discussions 
abound,  loathness  to  examine  the  history  of  the  sub- 
ject sentimentally  persists.     The  plea  is  made  that 


Preface  xi 

knowledge  of  the  origin  and  career  of  a  perhaps  still 
cherished  family  usage  will  lessen  its  current  valua- 
tion. There  is  some  truth  in  the  warning  that  in  such 
cases  especially  a  little  knowledge  is  a  dangerous 
thing.  In  most  cases,  however,  the  rejoinder  is  in- 
crease the  knowledge.  Fuller  knowledge  makes  us  re- 
alise that  an  humble  origin,  or  what  we  may  please  to 
call  an  humble  origin,  is  in  no  way  prejudicial  to  the 
developed  form  or  function.-^ 

Inquiry-precluding  taboo  and,  for  that  matter, 
contempt-breeding  knowledge,  are  dangerous  debris 
choking  up  possible  outlets  for  a  stream  of  progressive 
and  inspiring  moral  theory.  The  dogma  that  mar- 
riage is  an  unquestionable  sacrament  and  the  dictum 
that  it  is  merely  a  survival  of  a  past  form  of  property- 
holding  are  both  dams  of  this  kind. 

If  the  golden  rule  of  democracy,  equal  opportunity 
for  all  for  the  development  of  personality,  is  to  be- 
come a  more  influential  social  ideal  than  it  is  now,  if 
individualism  and  altruism  are  to  be  reconciled  in  the 
view  that  child-bearing  and  rearing  is  the  most  import- 
ant of  all  social  services,  the  desirability  of  change  in 
many  social  relations  in  and  out  of  the  family  will  have 
to  be  frankly  faced,  and,  if  necessary,  new  adaptations 
must  be  welcomed.  To  this  end  knowledge  of  the 
past  and  unhampered  discussion  of  ethical  desiderata 
for  the  future  are  necessary.  For  those  persons  to 
whom  truth  for  truth's  sake  is  not  always  a  justifica- 
tion this  should  be  my  warrant  for  the  notice  of  certain 
facts  which  are  generally  ignored  and  for  what   may 

*  Cp.  the  luminous  discussion  of  existential  and  spiritual  judgments  by 
William  James  in  The  Varieties  of  Religious  Experience,  New  York,  London, 
and  Bombay,  1902,  p. 4. 


xii  Preface 

seem  in  Lecture   15  undue  frankness  in  refusing  to 
shirk,  consideration  of  possible  issues. 

In  view  of  the  simple  character  of  the  lecture  out- 
lines as  schemes  of  classification  references  to  authori- 
ties are  seldom  made.  All  of  the  works  given  in  the 
bibliographical  notes  have  been  of  more  or  less  service. 
I  am  under  special  obligation  to  Post,  Dargun,  and 
Steinmetz.  The  notes  by  Steinmetz  which  are  scat- 
tered through  the  answers  to  the  question  schedules  on 
the  juridical  relations  of  the  natives  of  Africa  and 
Oceanica  of  the  Internationale  Vere2nigu7ig  fur  ver- 
gleichende  Rechtswissenscha/t  und  Volkswirtschafts- 
lehre  zu  Berlin,  as  well  as  his  methodological  criticism 
in  Die  neuere7i  Forschungen  zur  Geschichte  der  men- 
schlichen Fainilie  (yZt .  f.  Socialw.,  II,  1899,  685-695), 
are  especially  valuable.  Howard's  useful  summaries 
in  the  introductory  chapters  of  his  History  of  Matri- 
monial histitutionsv^^r^  time-saving  in  the  preparation 
of  the  bibliographical  notes.  Professor  Giddings  has 
been  kind  enough  to  read  Lecture  15  in  manuscript 
and  to  suggest  a  clearer  statement  than  that  originally 
made  about  the  conditions  for  youthful  trial  marriage. 


CONTENTS 


PREFACE V-XII 

INTRODUCTION. 
METHODS       ...  I  -  19 

I. — Study  of  the  family  organisation  characteristic  of  a  given  social 
group  by  each  student — His  classification  based  on  topical  outlines 
given  by  the  instructor  and  compiled  from  table  of  contents  and  note 
on  reports  by  students — List  of  communities  to  study — Note  on  re- 
ports by  students — Illustrative  facts  in  Notes  D — General  account  of 
selected  group  and  of  sources  of  authority  by  student — Anticipatory 
questions. 

II. — Plan  for  field-work  in  the  study  of  workingmen's  families — 
Training  in  use  of  note-book  and  of  schedules — Consultation  periods 
— The  need  of  .tact  by  student — Student's  reluctance  to  intrude  on 
family  privacy — Justification  of  method:  student's  immediate  useful- 
ness to  families  visited;  training  for  future  social  service — Model 
schedules. 

PARENTHOOD 
LECTURE  I 

THE  MEANING  OF  THE  FAMILY  IN  EVOLUTION  .  .  2O-25 

The  plasticity  accompanying  prolonged  period  of  immaturity  neces- 
sary to  individual  variation — Individual  variation  the  key  to  natural 
selection — Infancy  a  period  of  helplessness — Parental  care  supplies  the 
protection  needed  for  survival — The  family  the  outcome  of  the  need 
of  parental  care — The  development  of  parenthood;  internal  fertilisa- 
tion, incubation,  viviparity,  lactation,  developed  gestation — A  high 
death-rate  from  lack  of  protection  necessitates  a  correspondingly 
high  birth-rate — Parental  care  makes  possible  lowered  birth-  and 
death-rates — Decrease  of  vital  drain  upon  the  parent,  increase  of  size 
and  capacity  of  offspring  and  a  further  development  of  parental  care 
result. 

LECTURE  II 

THE  DURATION  OF  PARENTAL  CARE  AMONG  MANKIND  26-43 

Gestation  and  lactation  longest  among  mankind — Economic 
progress  shortens  lactation  period — Lactal  inability  of  mother,  in- 
dolence, personal  or  class  vanity,  belief  that  lactation  prevents  con- 

xiii 


xiv  Contents 

PAGE 

cqjtion,  sexual  abstinence  during  lactation  period,  wage-earning  by 
mother,  economy  of  food  or  time,  the  social  causes  of  disuse  or  abuse 
of  function — Need  of  observation  of  lactation  habits  in  study  of 
maternity  and  of  public  health  and  education — Duration  of  parental 
care  in  general  among  mankind  corresponds  to  period  of  immaturity, 
which,  in  turn,  corresponds  to  economic  environment  and  to  social 
organisation — Separate  residence,  marriage,  initiation  of  youth,  at- 
tainment of  economic,  juridical,  and  political  privileges,  partial  indi- 
cations  of  independence  of  parental  care — Age-classes — P'ilial  depend- 
ence and  subjection  before  maturity  to  be  distinguished  from  that 
after  maturity — The  latter,  part  of  dependence  upon  a  wider  circle  of 
kindred  characteristic  of  ethnic  society — Diminution  in  number  of 
births  and  child-deaths  per  family  accompanies  advances  in  parental 


LECTURE  III 

SOCIAL  FACTORS  IN  BIRTH-  AND  CHILD  DEATH-RATES  44-59 

Infanticide,  foeticide,  and  prevention  of  conception,  the  direct  arti- 
ficial checks  upon  human  fertility — They  correspond  to  different 
stages  of  mental  development  and  parental  sympathy — Causes  of  in- 
fanticide are  death  of  mother  (belief  that  her  spirit  craves  company  of 
child's),  birth  of  infant  before  an  older  child  is  independent  of  mother  as 
nurse  or  carrier,  uncompensated  burden  of  supporting  child,  in- 
dolence, desire  to  prevent  husband  taking  another  wife,  ill-luck  super- 
stitions due  to  intolerance  of  the  unusual  or  abnormal  (premature  birth, 
multiple  births,  abnormal  delivery,  disordered  dentition,  bodily  de- 
fects or  disease),  arbitrary  notions  of  ill-luck,  illegitimacy  (belief  that 
birth  of  twins  is  due  to  adultery) — Infanticide  of  first  offspring  (belief 
that  they  are  weakly);  of  subsequent  offspring — Female  infanticide 
due  to  economic  inferiority  of  females  and  to  the  fact  that  the  posses- 
sion of  females  prompts  raids — Methods  of  infanticide — Exposure  in- 
dicates an  increase  of  parental  sympathy — More  or  less  same  causes 
for  foeticide  as  for  infanticide — Indolence,  personal  vanity,  fear  of 
disgrace  or  punishment  in  case  of  illegitimacy,  prescribed  sexual  ab- 
stinence during  pregnancy,  spiting  husband,  particularly  promment 
or  additional  causes — The  practice  in  modern  surgery — Decision 
upon  either  practice  may  rest  with  mother  or  father,  or  be  subject  to 
consent  of  kinsfolk — Infanticide  gradually  assimilated  to  murder — 
Time  or  ceremonial  restrictions  upon  practice — Condemnation  of 
foeticide  still  later — Tolerated  in  some  cases,  because  of  belief  that 
foetus  is  not  alive — Knowledge  of  facts  indicative  of  desirability  of 
offspring  (cost  of  bringing  up  offspring,  economic  returns  through 
thild-labour,  labour  of  adult  sons  or  daughters,  or  through  daughter- 
sale  in  marriage  or  prostitution,  sale  or  pawning  of  offspring,   the 


Contents  xv 


practice  of  fertility  charms  or  rites,  suspension  of  legal  marriage  un- 
til birth  of  offspring,  divorce  for  barrenness,  inheritance  of  rank, 
property,  religion,  practices  of  adoption,  celebrations  at  birth  or  nam- 
ing of  child,  state  rewards  or  privileges  for  married  persons  or  for 
prolific  parents)  important  in  ascertaining  tendency  to  check  fertility 
and  thereby,  in  particular,  approximately  ascertaining,  under  addi- 
tional given  circumstances,  extent  of  habitual  prevention  of  concep- 
tion— Full  benefits  of  diminution  of  offspring  not  gained  through 
infanticide  or  foeticide;  gained  only  through  practice  of  artificially 
prolonging  intervals  between  conceptions  or  temporary  prevention  of 
conception — Additional  direct  but  non-purposive  social  checks  on 
number  of  births  per  family:  sexual  restraint  during  lactation  period, 
prolonged  lactation,  economic  hardship — Indirect  social  checks  on 
birth-rate:  postponement  of  age  at  marriage  (due  to  economic  crises, 
advancing  standards  of  living);  sexual  intercourse  during  immaturity; 
limitation  of  potential  parents  (due  to  prostitution,  religious  celibacy, 
standing  armies,  depopulating  wars  and  epidemics,  growth  of  desires 
for  economic  independence  or  for  luxury  and  idleness). 

LECTURE  IV 

PARENTAL  POWER 6o  -  89 

Parental  ownership  or  control  the  accompaniment  of  filial  depend- 
ence— Unrestricted  possession  leads  to  power  to  kill  at  birth  or  later, 
devour,  sell,  pawn,  or  give  away,  make  work,  offer  up  in  sacrifice  to 
deity,  abuse,  etc. — Restricted  possession — Powers  limited  to  circum- 
stances of  filial  misbehaviour — Effected  by  kinship  solidarity — In  the 
latter  case,  liabilities  and  obligations  frequently  mutual — Under 
ethnic  organisation  guardianship  of  offspring  may  be  shared  with 
father  by  kinsfolk,  or  may  be  vested  in  father  as  head  of  kinsfolk — 
Paternal  ownership  sometimes  restricted  in  case  of  sons — Discussion 
of  labour  of  offspring  and  of  parental  control  as  an  educational  means 
postponed — Right  to  dispose  of  daughters  in  sexual  hospitality,  pro- 
stitution, marriage  by  barter,  service,  purchase — Infant-  and  child- 
betrothal — Indicates  parental  control  of  marriage  of  sons — But  this 
is  thought  of  as  an  obligation  to  provide  wives  for  sons — Later  arises 
a  like  obligation  to  provide  husbands  for  daughters — Treatment  of 
elopers  significant  of  extent  of  parental  control — Different  degrees  of 
freedom  of  sexual  choice  by  girl — Commonly  widows  and  divorced 
women  have  more  freedom  of  choice — Bride-price,  offspring  in  ex- 
change for  bride,  marriage  by  service — Passing  of  bride-price  into 
dower  and  dowry — A  significant  modification  in  the  idea  of  parental 
(and  marital)  ownership — Even  the  bride-price  may  be  a  distinction 
due  to  the  bride  herself — Groom-price — The  right  of  kinsfolk  other 
than  the  father  to  dispose  of  in  marriage. 


xvi  Contents 


LECTURE  V 

HOME  EDUCATION  AND  STAGES  OF  PARENTHOOD  .         pO - 

Three  stages  of  parenthood  according  to  which  facts  of  home-educa- 
tion may  be  classified — (i)  Lactation  period  long  but  whole  period  of 
immaturity  short — Parental  mastery  accompanied  by  affection  and  in- 
dulgence or  indifference  and  neglect;  offspring  subject  to  parental 
temper;  but  no  attempt  at  discijiline — In  all  stages  imitation  the  most 
important  educational  method — It  is  the  means  of  short  cuts  m  re- 
capitulation, thereby  conserving  social  habits  for  the  being  that  is 
born  plastic,  while  giving  opportunity  for  the  progressive  individual 
variation — Advantages  of  plasticity  at  birth  not  fully  availed  of  by 
undeveloped  types  of  family,  for  this  one-sided  imitation-training  may 
preclude  individual  initiative — Test  of  family  efficiency  and  criterion 
of  development  in  family  types  is  ability  to  adapt  offspring  to  environ- 
ment and  to  so  direct  process  of  adaptation  that  progressive  initiative 
is  encouraged — Imitation-training  may  become  conscious  in  all  matters 
of  thought  and  conduct,  particularly  in  teaching  and  learning  here- 
ditary crafts — (2)  Immaturity  longer,  environment  more  complex — 
Offspring  valuable  chattels — Disciplined  to  increase  their  value  to 
parents — Filial  virtues  also  of  value  to  group  so  that  training  of  off- 
spring may  be  more  or  less  expected  of  parents — (3)  Immaturity  still 
longer;  but  at  its  close,  unlike  (2),  complete  independence  of  offspring 
— Education  of  child  primarily  for  his  own  sake  allows  of  encourage- 
ment of  individual  variation — Equality  of  inheritance  a  criterion  of 
third  stage — These  stages  not  mutually  exclusive — Customs  indicative 
of  or  leading  to  parental  sympathy  more  or  less  peculiar  to  first  two 
stages:  pregnancy  and  birth  taboos  (many  of  them  based  on  idea  of 
susceptibility  during  these  periods  to  spirit  influences),  coiivade  and 
kindred  practices,  sexual  abstinence  during  pregnancy  and  lactation- 
period,  teknonymy  and  auspicious  naming,  bodily  mutilations  and 
lucky  practices  for  the  good  of  offspring — Differentiation  of  education 
according  to  sex  affects  structure  of  family,  leading,  for  example,  to 
early  separation  of  boys  from  mother  and  sisters — Ceremonial 
avoidance. 


MARRIAGE 
LECTURE  VI 

SEXUAL    RELATIONS   EXCLUSIVE    OF    MARRIAGE  .  II2-I36 

Parental  care  affected  by  conjugal  relations — Offspring  of  transitory 
sexual  intercourse,  for  example,  suffer — There  are,  however,  substi- 
tutes for  parents:  adoptive  parents,  polygynous  step-mothers,  kin- 
dred, servants,  etc.,  church  or  state — Duration  of  sexual  intercourse 


Contents  xvii 

PAGE 

among  animals  is  proportionate  to  degree  of  parental  care — Elimina- 
tion of  a  distinct  pairing  season  characteristic  of  mankind — Indica- 
tive of  man's  comparative  independence  of  his  natural  environment 
— Possible  traces  of  a  fixed  human  pairing  season  in  customs  of  cele- 
brating marriages  and  in  the  occurrence  of  a  maximum  birth-rate  at 
set  seasons,  and  of  periodic  festivals  with  sexual  license — Non-repro- 
ductive sexual  activity  and  permanence  in  conjugal  relations  the  prob- 
able effects  of  elimination — Marriage  the  living  together  of  male 
and  female  after  the  act  of  propagation  until  the  birth  of  offspring — 
Sexual  promiscuity  viewed  differently  according  to  sex  and  to  con- 
jugal condition — Unmarried  males  required  only  to  respect  rights 
of  other  males — Unchastity  in  unmarried  females  frequently  toler- 
ated, but  requirement  of  chastity  more  common — Punishments  for 
unchastity  including  shrinkage  of  bride-price  and  repudiation  of 
hymenless  bride — Betrothal  sometimes  indicates  demand  for  chastity 
in  brides — Sexual  freedom  before  marriage  tolerated  where  after 
marriage  condemned — Adultery  by  male  sometimes  cause  for  divorce 
and  reprobation,  otherwise  unpunished — Punishment  of  adulteress — 
Punishment  for  rape  and  seduction — In  case  of  betrothed  girl,  pun- 
ishment severer — Also  for  rape  when  latter  is  distinguished  from 
seduction — Violation  assimilated  to  theft;  for  when  consent  of 
woman's  owner  is  secured,  as  in  case  of  defloration  anticipatory  of 
marriage  or  in  daughter-  or  Vf\i&- leu  ding,  there  is  no  offence — Pro- 
stitutes are  ownerless  women — Deities  the  owners  of  temple-prosti- 
tutes— Extent  of  segregation  significant  of  attitude  of  group  on  subject 
— Treatment  of  illegitimates  indicative,  as  a  rule,  of  group's  attitude 
towards  illegitimate  sexual  intercourse — Discrimination  against  ille- 
gitimates evidence  that  highest  type  of  parenthood  in  which  child  is 
cared  for  for  his  own  sake  is  not  general — Disposal  of  forms  of  so- 
called  marriage  excluded,  strictly  speaking,  from  our  definition:  time-, 
/r/a/-marriage,  etc. 

LECTURE  VII 

THE    FORM    AND    DURATION    OF    MARRIAGE         .  .  137-160 

Forms  of  marriage:  monogamy,  polygyny,  polyandry,  group-marriage 
— Monogamy  and  polygamy  among  animals  lower  than  man — Among 
mankind,  group-marriage  combined  with  individual  marriage — Male 
and  female  concubinage — Term  under  monogamous  system  refers  to 
inferior  status  of  cohabiting  woman  due  to  economic,  political,  or  age 
inequalities  or  disabilities — Superior  wife,  first,  eldest,  last,  one  for 
whom  bride-price  is  paid,  equal  rank  with  husband,  first  to  bear  a 
child,  favourite — Wives  a  group  of  kinswomen — Wife  gives  her  own 
female  slave  to  husband — Restrictions  upon  polygyny:  consent  of  first 
wife  required,  allowed  only  in  case  of  disabilities  of  first  wife — Forms 
of  polyandry:  Nair,  Thibetan,  younger-brother-concubinage,  sexual 


xviii  Contents 

Page 
hospitality  of  covenanted  brotherhood,  father-son  polyandry — Coex- 
istence of  two  or  more  forms  of  marriage — Causes  of  polygamy: 
numerical  disproportion  between  the  sexes  due  to  female  infanticide, 
religious  celibacy,  constant  warfare,  an  excess  of  male  births,  special 
economic  conditions,  e.g.  absence  of  men  on  hunting  or  trade  expedi- 
tions ;  conjugal  abstinence  at  stated  periods,  desire  for  children, 
and  primarily  economic  inequality — Plurality  of  wives  a  form  and 
source  of  wealth  and  distinction — Monogamy  and  polyandry  some- 
times due  to  poverty — Marriage  ends  by  death  or  separation — Im- 
molation and  mourning  of  widows  point  to  belief  in  marriage  after 
death— Duration  of  marriage  dependent  upon  its  form — Polygamy 
and  lax  or  brittle  monogamy  substitutable  forms — Time  and  trial 
marriage  in  illustration  of  brittle  marriage — Divorce  at  pleasure  or 
for  specific  causes — In  latter  case,  penalties  for  divorce  without 
cause:  forfeiture  by  husband  or  wife  or  wife's  family  of  dowry,  dower, 
bride-price,  forcible  return  of  wife — Grounds  for  divorce  vary  with 
varying  standards  for  conjugal  conduct — Common  grounds  are  adultery, 
barrenness,  disease,  laziness,  quarrelsomeness,  in  wife,  and,  in  hus- 
band, impotence,  disease,  cruelty,  prolonged  absence,  failure  to  sup- 
port— The  fact  that  barrenness  is  an  almost  universal  ground  indicates 
that  our  definition  of  marriage  is  more  or  less  that  of  popular  thought 
— Marital  proprietorship  precludes  reciprocity  in  right  to  divorce — 
Forms  of  divorce — Remarriage  of  divorced  persons— Disposal  of  off- 
spring in  divorce — Polygamy  more  advantageous  to  offspring  than 
restricted  monogamy;  but  developed  monogamy  more  advantageous 
than  polygamy  because  (i)  it  insures  impartial  and  continuous  care  by 
both  parents  and  (2)  allows  of  conjugal  relations  which  fit  wife  to 
most  adequately  fulfil  function  of  motherhood. 

LECTURE  VIII 
SEXUAL    CHOICE 161-189 

Sexual  choice  an  important  social  factor — Preferred  traits  indicated 
by  courtship  incidents,  betrothal  and  marriage  ceremonial,  bride- 
price  features — Struggle  of  sexual  selection  continues  more  or  less 
through  mating  period  of  life — Influenced  indirectly  by  social  usage 
in  regard  to  form  and  duration  of  sexual  intercourse,  directly  by  aver- 
sion to  intermixture  with  very  unlike  beings,  by  ideas  of  consanguin- 
ity and  affinity,  etc.,  by  locality,  separation  of  sexes,  customary  initia- 
tive in  courtship  by  male,  economic,  cultural,  and  political  differences, 
parental  ownership,  group  or  over-lord  control,  age — Consanguinity 
restrictions  endogamous  or  exogamous — Correspond  to,  but  never  quite 
identical  with,  kinship  ideas — Co-existence  of  endogamous  and  ex- 
ogamous rules — Adoption,  fosterage,  milk-brotherhood,  sponsorship, 
affinity,  as  prohibitive  marriage-relations — Affinity  as  in  widow-inher- 
itance, brother-polyandry,  sister-polygyny,  hvirateoi  niyoga,  substitu- 


Contents  xix 

paok 
tion  of  a  female  relative  for  a  barren  or  deceased  wife — Consangui- 
neous restrictions  hold  for  temporary  sexual  intercourse — Punishments 
for  incest — Endogamous  rules  sometimes  due  to  economic  motives — 
Disintegration  of  blood-ties  in  general  diminishes  consanguineous 
marriage  restrictions — District  endogamy  or  exogamy — Widespread 
separation  of  sexes  at  puberty,  with  differentiation  of  employments 
according  to  sex  and  ceremonial  avoidance  serious  checks  upon  sexual 
choice — Interclass  or  caste  marriage  forbidden  or  discouraged — 
Different  marriage  restrictions  among  different  classes  in  same  com- 
munity— Parental  ownership  one  of  the  chief  checks  in  primitive 
communities — Age  restrictions  are  requirement  of  an  arbitrary  age  of 
consent,  forbidding  marriage  prior  to  initiation,  correspondence  of 
some  kind  between  ages  of  bride  and  groom,  requiring  marriage 
within  the  same  generation,  prevention  of  younger  marrying  before 
older  brothers  or  sisters — Deprivation  of  sexual  choice  works  against 
duration  of  marriage — Sexual  choice  incomplete  in  temporary  forms 
of  sexual  intercourse  or  in  polygamy — Marriage  and  certain  forms  of 
marriage  will  encourage  through  sexual  selection  certain  characters 
whereas  temporary  intercourse  and  other  forms  of  marriage  will 
encourage  other  characters. 

LECTURE  IX 

BETROTHAL  AND  MARRIAGE  CEREMONIAL,  AND 
RELATIONS  BETWEEN  HUSBAND  AND  WIFE 
EXCLUSIVE    OF   ECONOMIC    RELATIONS  .  .  190-22I 

Betrothal  and  marriage  ceremonial  may  be  anticipatory  of  conjugal 
life, — commensal,  labour,  subservience,  union,  symbols — Also  the  bed 
of  fossils  or  survivals  of  outgrown  conjugal  relations  or  methods  of 
mate-getting — Rape  and  purchase  symbols  to  be  distinguished  from 
non-ceremonial  sexual  shyness,  etc.  and  favour-winning  gifts — Mar- 
riage by  purchase,  including  barter  or  service,  more  favourable  to  wife 
than  marriage  by  capture — Former  a  contract  with  bride's  family — 
Her  fertility,  good  behaviour,  protection,  and  support  contracted  for — 
Bride-price  on  instalment  plan  leaves  her  family  partial  control  of 
her — Residence  after  marriage  an  important  factor  in  position  of 
husband  or  wife — Different  residence  practices  exist  in  same  group  as 
result  of  economic  differentiation — Wifely  subservience  usual — Seen 
in  husband's  right  to  punish  for  disobedience,  laziness,  infidelity — 
Concubinage  and  distinctions  of  rank,  produce  unequal  degrees  of 
subservience  in  same  family  or  in  different  families  in  same  group — 
Marital  duties  of  protection  and  support  universal — Practices  indicative 
of  mutual  sympathy  and  affection:  eouvadt  practices,  sexual  ab- 
stinence during  pregnancy  and  lactation,  sympathetic  practices  during 


XX  Contents 

PAGB 

difficult  labour,  hunting,  fighting — General  customs  of  sexual  differen- 
tiation separating  interests  and  checking  sympathy  of  married  persons: 
exclusion  of  women  from  religious  or  political  activity,  differen- 
tiation of  economic  activities  along  sex  lines,  special  sexual  taboos. 

LECTURE  X 

ECONOMIC  RELATIONS  BETWEEN  HUSBAND  AND  WIFE  222  -  247 

Division  of  labour  between  husband  and  wife:  husband  hunts,  fishes, 
herds  cattle,  tills  soil,  trades,  and,  in  predominantly  industrial  socie- 
ties, is  the  chief  or  only  wage-earner;  wife  digs  roots,  gathers  berries, 
fruits,  shell-fish,  carries  burdens,  rows,  works  in  garden  and  field  (in 
wt'wad'/V  agriculture  being  the  exclusive  cultivator),  sometimes  cares  for 
nets,  traps,  and  weapons,  sometimes  for  domestic  animals,  prepares 
food,  clothes,  domestic  vessels,  etc.,  supplements  husband's  wages  or 
is  even  chief  wage-earner — Division  of  labour  or  of  functions  in  po- 
lygyny—Former precluded  by  separate  residence  of  wives— Differen- 
tiation of  economic  classes  exempts  and  even  at  times  precludes 
wives  (and  children)  of  higher  economic  classes  from  productive  labour 
— Slavery  and  the  wage-earning  system  substitutes  for  economic 
functions  of  polygyny — Marital  ownership  precludes  economic  in- 
dependence of  wife— As  a  chattel,  she  may  be  loaned,  exchanged, 
sold,  inherited,  or  immolated  at  husband's  death — Dower  and  dowry 
lead  to  idea  of  wife  as  a  property  owner — Prior  expressions  of  this 
idea  in  female  ownership  and  inheritance  of  feminine  goods,  in  reten- 
tion of  personal  earnings  by  wives — Economic  independence  de- 
velops through  (i)  system  of  community  of  property,  (2)  separate 
ownership — Inheritance  by  widows— Inheritance  of  wife's  property 
— Economic  subordination  accompanied  by  juridical  disabilities — By 
exclusion  from  government — Gynocracy  rare — Reciprocity  of  influ- 
ence between  status  of  wife  and  that  of  mother. 


KINSHIP 
LECTURE  XI 

THE  RECKONING  OF  DESCENT  AND    KINSHIP   SYSTEMS  248-266 

Descent  may  be  reckoned  through  mother  (matronymy),  through 
father  (patronymy),  or  through  both  parents — Matronymy  (descent) 
to  be  distinguished  from  matriarchate  (power)— Similar  distinction 
between  patronymy  and  patriarchate — Rut  matronymy  or  patronymy 
accompanies  highly  developed  matriarchate  or  patriarchate — Ma- 
tronymy found  with  patriarchal  forms — Patriarchate  in  distinction  to 


Contents  xxi 


primitive  paternal  power  part  of  a  more  or  less  complex  juridical  system 
.^Physical  parenthood  known,  but  not  recognised  as  a  juridical  re- 
lation— Juridical  parenthood:  adoption  of  child  of  concubine,  of  child 
by  former  husband,  levirate,  niyoga — Systems  of  computing  kinship 
—Descriptive  system  reckons  kinship  between  two  individuals  ac- 
cording to  their  genealogical  position  to  a  common  ancestor,  col- 
lateral and  some  of  the  lineal  kindred  being  originally  described  by  a 
combination  of  primary  terms — Levitical,  Roman,  and  civil  law  sys- 
tem and  canon  and  English  common-law  system  of  reckoning  degrees — 
Classificatory  system  reckons  kinship  between  groups  of  individuals 
of  same  generation,  the  collateral  being  merged  into  the  lineal  lines. 

LECTURE  XII 

KINSHIP   GROUPS THE  PRIMITIVE  SIMPLE  FAMILY 

THE   COMPOUND    FAMILY — THE    MATRIARCHATE  267-296 

Blood-kinship  one  of  the  most  important  social  ties — Kinship- 
groups:  simple  and  compound  family,  clan  (totem,  matriarchal,  and 
patriarchal),  phratry,  tribe,  and  tribal  confederation  (at  times) — Simple 
family  of  parents  and  offspring  characteristic  of  primitive  hordes  and 
of  complex  modern  societies — Organisation  of  simple  family  of  primi- 
tive horde — Totemism — Totem-clans — Primitive  simple  family  in 
groups  with  and  without  totem-clan  organisation — In  former  case 
family  tends  to  be  absorbed  by  clan — Definition  of  phratries — Hordes 
or  local  groups  small — Due  to  uncertain  and  scant  sources  of  sub- 
sistence— The  men  hunters  and  fishers  of  a  low  type;  the  women 
collectors  of  roots,  fruits,  berries,  shell-fish,  etc. — Meagreness  of  food- 
supply  also  necessitates  migration — Constitution  and  direction  of  tribe 
— Group-headship,  magic  ceremonial,  and  women  sometimes  inherited 
— Beginnings  of  ancestor-worship  in  destruction  of  property  at  death, 
exorcist  charms,  etc. — Compound  matriarchial  or  patriarchal  family 
united  by  economic,  juridical,  and  religious  ties — May  or  may  not 
form  a  common  household — Ties  closer  than  those  of  co-existing  sim- 
ple families,  totem-clans,  tribes,  or  local  groups — Pure  type  of 
matriarchal  family  rare — T^Iatriarchal  features — Matronymy  (but  not 
exclusively  matriarchal) — Temporary  or  permanent  residence  with 
wife's  family — Mixed  systems  showing  dependence  upon  facts  of 
residence  for  determination  of  matriarchal  or  patriarchal  system — Poly- 
andry, polygyny,  or  monogamy — Reciprocal  right  of  divorce — Abor- 
tion— Long  lactation — Major  control  of  offspring  with  mother  and 
male  relatives — Influence  of  girls  in  choice  of  husbands — Tendency 
to  postpone  age  at  marriage — Incipient  discipline  of  children — Avun- 
culate — FiiJM-right — From  20  to  150  persons  may  compose  a  common 
household,  several  households  forming  a  local  group — Groups  semi- 
migratory — Developing  economic  arts  lengthen  period  of  education. 


xxii  Contents 


PACK 

also  increase  value  of  women — The  latter  effect  encourages  a  tend- 
ency towards  polyg>ny — Goods  inherited  through  mother  or  maternal 
uncle — Married  women  may  possess  household  utensils  and  clothes 
— Equal  inheritance  among  sons  (or  nephews) — Developing  ancestor- 
worship — Totemism  more  religious  and  less  juridical  and  economic — 
Totem-clans  here  primarily  exogamous  marriage  groups — Blood-feud, 
common  property-holding,  functions  of  matriarchal  kin — Regular 
tribal  government — Exceptional  participation  by  women  in  tribal 
government. 

LECTURE  XIII 

THE   PATRIARCHATE  ......  297-326 

Original  extent  of  matriarchate  a  moot  question — Transition  from 
matriarchate  to  patriarchate  observable — Not  true  of  transition  in 
contrary  sense — Indisputable  evidences  of  aforesaid  transition: 
dependence  of  full  marital  or  paternal  power  upon  payment  of  bride- 
price,  purchase  of  his  own  offspring  by  father,  mixed  systems  of  dis- 
tribution of  patrimony,  survivals  of  avunculate — Characteristics  of 
patriarchal  compound  family:  monogamy  of  poverty;  polygyny  a 
source  or  an  indication  of  wealth;  developed  concubinage;  high  birth- 
rate; infanticide  and  abortion  punished  or  condemned;  female  in- 
fanticide an  exception;  developed  marital  and  paternal  power;  latter 
restrained,  at  times,  by  woman's  family;  wives  and  offspring  together 
with  their  husband-  or  parent-master  subject  to  head  of  kinsfolk;  in- 
fant- and  child-betrothal  frequent;  age  at  marriage  ;  duty  of  procuring 
wives  for  sons  or  younger  male  relatives;  marriage  by  purchase  de- 
veloped; marriage  settlement;  divorce  for  stated  offences,  not  recipro- 
cal; in  divorce  offspring  follow  father;  kinsfolk  group  responsible 
for  debts,  fines,  composition,  ransom  of  its  members;  leaving  group 
subject  to  consent  of  group;  land  and  dwellings  owned  in  common  or 
in  severalty;  ancestor-worship  characteristic  of  patriarchal  groups; 
few  traces  of  totemism — Phallic-worship  of  influence  upon  family — 
Features  of  ancestor-worship:  ceremonial  wailing,  destruction  of 
property  animate  and  inanimate  at  death,  burial-place  near,  sacrifices 
at  tomb — Effect  of  ancestor-worship  on  family:  marriage  and  repro- 
duction, religious  duties;  infanticide,  abortion,  adultery,  sins;  adop- 
tion encouraged;  inequality  of  inheritance,  for  he  who  continues  the 
family  worship,  the  first-born,  may  inherit  a  double  portion  of 
patrimony;  as  women  adopt  the  family  worship  of  husbands,  co- 
operation in  the  family  cult  dignifies  position  of  chief-wife — Patri- 
archal house  or  village  communities — Patriarchal  family  proper,  and 
joint,  undivided  family  defined — Patriarchal  features  accompanying 
particular  modes  of  subsistence — Patriarchal  house-communities 
among  lower   type   of  agriculturists — So-called    patriarchal    family 


Contents  xxiii 

PAGE 

among  pastoral  peoples;  families  more  or  less  segregated,  tribal 
organisation  for  offence  or  defence,  marked  subjection  of  women  due 
to  their  inferior  position  as  producers,  equal  inheritance  of  patri- 
mony by  sons — Joint  undivided  family  more  characteristic  of  agricul- 
tural than  of  pastoral  groups — Communal  family  ownership  of  land — 
Reapportionment  and  partition — Hereditary,  appointed,  and  elected 
headship — Village  community — Patriarchal  clan  or  gens  survivals 
among  historical  peoples. 

LECTURE  XIV 

THE   MODERN   SIMPLE    FAMILY  ....  327-339 

Transition  from  matriarchal  as  well  as  from  patriarchal  to  individual 
family;  but  latter  transition  the  more  important  in  study  of  modem 
family  in  Aryan  civilisation — Survivals  of  patriarchal  family  in 
modern  individual  family:  name  and  rank  descends  through  father; 
father  and  parental  kindred  have  prior  claims  in  matters  of  guardian- 
ship; parental  consent  necessary  after  age  of  consent  to  a  legal 
marriage;  survivals  of  dower  and  dowry;  economic  disabilities  upon 
wives  and  daughters  in  wage-earning,  and  in  holding  and 
inheriting  property;  demand  for  chastity  and  conjugal  fidelity 
and  right  to  divorce,  one-sided;  general  subordination  of  women  in 
family;  inequality  of  inheritance  by  sons — Primogeniture  and  exclu- 
sion of  women  from  inheritance  due  to  feudalism — Characters  of  mod- 
ern individual  family:  Monogamy — Punishment  or  condemnation  of 
bigamy  and  temporary  conjugal  infidelity — Only  a  slight  tendency  to 
require  chastisity  of  unmarried  men — Increase  of  prostitution  due 
chiefly  to  tendency  to  late  marriage  or  celibacy — Segregation  of  pro- 
stitutes becoming  less  marked — Increase  of  divorce — Majority  of 
divorces  obtained  by  women — Increase  of  legal  causes  for  divorce — 
Existence  of  offspring  not  a  legal  factor  in  obtaining  divorce — Pre- 
judice against  d'vorced  per?cns  subsiding — Remarriage  of  divorced 
persons  usual — Both  community  and  individual  matrimonial  property 
systems;  but  in  either  case  tendency  to  economic  equality  or  inde- 
pendence of  wives — Increase  of  conjugal  sympathy  and  joint  activity — 
Tendency  against  sexual  segregation  in  general  shown  in  movement 
of  co-education — Education  prolonged — Child-exploitation  condemned 
— Highest  type  of  parenthood  spreading — Knowledge  of  influence 
of  heredity  and  environment  conducive  to  parental  responsibility — 
Responsibility  in  sexual  choice  begins  to  be  enforced  by  public  opin- 
ion— Protection  of  child  by  the  state  in  laws  against  infanticide  and 
abortion,  against  maltreatment  of  children,  in  compulsory  education 
law — Voluntary  childlessness  an  outcome  of  the  costs  of  child-rearing 
— Review  of  influence  of  Christianity  and  of  the  Christian  Church 
upon  the  individual  family. 


xxiv  Contents 


LECTURE  XV 

ETHICAL   CONSIDERATIONS 34°  "SS^ 

Danger  of  hasty  ethical  interpretations — Family  structure  should  be 
such  that  infancy  may  be  prolonged  and  that  adaptation  to  environ- 
ment antl  ]irogressive  individual  variation  may  be  secured — Juvenile 
criminality  a  failure  in  adaptation — The  power  to  choose  a  favourable 
environment  should  be  encouraged — Problem  of  adapting  to  environ- 
ment and  at  the  same  time  of  stimulating  individual  initiative  falls 
primarily  upon  the  parent — Parental  duty  begins  before  parenthood 
(i)  in  self-education  in  general  and  in  special  preparation  as  home 
educators,  (2)  in  choice  of  partner  in  responsibilities  of  inheritance 
and  education — (i)  The  educational  ideal  of  the  building  of  character 
for  social  service  finds  expression  in  child-rearing  as  an  important 
social  function — Child-study  to  become  a  part  of  a  liberal  education — 
(2)  Present  recognition  of  social  wrong  in  propagating  disease  through 
reproduction — Higher  standards  in  marriage  choice — Marriage 
should  be  the  relationship  best  fitting  for  parenthood — Monogamy 
superior  to  polygyny  or  prostitution  as  giving  fuller  opportunities 
for  the  development  of  personality  and  therefore  of  parenthood — 
Similarly,  reciprocity  of  rights  and  duties  in  marriage  desirable — Pro- 
prietary marriage  unfits  for  parenthood — Education  of  girls  necessary 
to  a  high  type  of  motherhood — Emancipation  of  woman  move- 
ment unfortunately  failed  to  emphasise  the  social  as  well  as  the 
individualistic  need — Opportunity  for  personal  development  through 
assuming  responsibility  in  the  state  and  in  industry  a  need  for  wives 
and  mothers — A  high  type  of  monogamy  and  progressive  sexual  se- 
lection require  mature  judgment  in  sexual  choice  and  early  marriage 
is  therefore  precluded — Late  marriage  has  always  been  accompanied 
by  lack  of  chastity  before  marriage  on  part  of  youth  of  both  sexes  or, 
where  female  chastity  is  valued,  by  lack  of  male  chastity  and  the 
growth  of  a  prostitute  class — Prostitution  is  undemocratic,  a  survival 
of  clan  morality — Given  late  marriage  and  the  passing  away  of  pro- 
stitution there  are  two  alternatives:  freedom  of  sexual  intercourse 
for  both  sexes  before  marriage,  i.e.  before  the  birth  of  offspring 
(youthful  trial  marriage),  or  absolute  chastity  for  both  sexes  before  mar- 
riage, i.e.  before  a  contract  for  sexual  intercourse — The  ultimate  answer 
to  this  question  complicated  with  many  conditions,  notably  the  economic 
independence  of  women  and  certain  physiological  discoveries — In- 
crease of  biological  knowledge  and  enhanced  capacity  for  parental 
devotion  may  in  the  future  lessen  the  present  need  of  sexual  restraint 
and  thereby  affect  sexual  relations  in  and  out  of  marriage — Mean- 
while, prostitution  or  adultery  should  be  condemned  in  men  as  well 
as  in  women,  the  age  0/ consent  should  be  identified  with  the  legal 
age  of  marriage,  discriminations  against  illegitimates  should  be  re- 


Contents  xxv 

FAOB 

moved,  and  legal  provisions  prohibiting  remarriage  after  separation 
should  be  repealed — Failure  to  realise  that  sexual  restraint  is  primar- 
ily for  the  sake  of  offspring  shown  in  current  divorce  agitation — Effect 
upon  offspring  ought  to  be  the  chief  consideration  in  divorce — A  two- 
fold divorce  law  suggested,  one  for  childless  divorce  seekers  and  one 
for  divorce  seekers  with  children — Objection  that  this  would  encour- 
age voluntarily  childless  marriage — The  latter  a  progressive  substitute 
for  prostitution;  but,  like  prostitution,  a  check  upon  the  development 
of  personality — An  outcome  of  excessive,  although  one-sided  in- 
dividualism— Restricted  child-bearing  not  practised  by  proper  classes 
— Dearth  of  teaching  on  subject — Evil  effects  of  high  birth  and  cor- 
respondingly high  infant  mortality  rates  among  the  lowest  economic 
and  cultural  classes — Child-labour,  age  of  consent,  and  compulsory 
education  laws  point  to  an  abandonment  of  our  laissez-faire  policy 
in  regard  to  childhood — Systematic  training  of  girls  in  care  of  young 
children  and  supervision  of  children  in  their  homes  future  possibil- 
ities— The  future  of  the  family. 

APPENDIX 359 

Translation  of  a  questionnaire  by  Dr.  Albert  Hermann  Post  for  the 
investigation  of  the  family  in  ethnic  societies. 

INDEX 365 


INTRODUCTION 

METHODS 

I.  It  is  suggested  that  at  the  first  meeting  of  in- 
structor and  class  one  of  the  communities  Hsted  below 
be  chosen  by  each  student  for  special  study.  During 
the  year  he  should  be  expected  to  become  thoroughly 
familiar  with  the  cited  records  or  descriptions  of  the 
community  chosen.  He  is  to  make  a  classification  of 
all  the  facts  bearing  upon  the  family  that  he  finds  in 
these  sources  of  authority.  He  should  use  the  card 
system  of  note  keeping.^  His  classification  will  be 
based  upon  a  typewritten  outline  which  the  instructor 
will  give  at  the  outset  to  the  class.  The  outline 
may  be  compiled  from  the  summaries  given  in  the 
table  of  contents,  and  from  the  note  given  below, 
pages  4-6,  on  Reports  by  the  Students.  The  student 
will  be  expected  to  bring  with  him  to  class  that  part 
of  his  classification  which  concerns  the  topics  to  be 
immediately  discussed.  In  developing  the  topics, 
the  instructor  will  then  be  able  to  call  upon  the  class 
for  illustrative  facts. 

FOR   STUDY    BY    THE   STUDENTS 

Veddahs. 

*Sarasin,  P.  and  Fr.,  Die  Weddahsvon  CVy^?^, Wiesbaden, 
1893. 

'  In  this  system,  each  fact  is  recorded  on  a  separate  slip  of  paper,  and  these 
slips,  uniform  in  size,  are  then  grouped  in  envelopes  topically  labelled. 
*  Data  compiled  in  Notes  D. 

z 


The  Family 


Yaghan  (Fuegians  of  Cape  Horn). 

*  Hyades  and  Deniker,  Mission  scientifique  du  Cap  Horn 
1882-1883,  vol.  vii.,  Paris,  1891. 

*  Bulletins  de  la  Society  d  Anthropologie  de  Paris,  vii.,  169 
/".,  Paris,  1894. 

*  lb.,  X.,  327-340,  Paris,  1887. 

The  Natives  of  Australia. 

*  Spencer  and  Gillen,  The  Native  Tribes  of  Central 
Australia,  London,  1899. 

lb.,  The  Northern  Tribes  of  Central  Australia,  London  and 
New  York,  1904. 

Howitt,  The  Native  Tribes  of  South- East  Australia^ 
London  and  New  York,   1904. 

Roth,  North-  West-Central  Queensland  Aborigines,  London, 
1899. 

Cunow,  Die  Verivandtschafts-Organisation  der  Austral- 
neger,  Stuttgart,  1894. 

Eskimo. 

*  Murdock,  Ethnological  Results  of  the  Point  Barrow 
Expedition,  9th  Annual  Report  (1892)  of  the  Bureau  of 
Ethnology. 

*  Nelson,  The  Eskimo  about  Behring  Strait,  i8th  Annual 
Report,  Part  L   (1899),  of  the  Bureau  of  Ethnology. 

*Boas,  The  Central  Eskimo,  6th  Annual  Report  (1888)  of 
the  Bureau  of  Ethnology. 

Wyandots. 

*  Powell,  Wyandot  Government,  ist  Annual  Report  (1881) 
of  the  Bureau  of  Ethnology. 

Thompson  River  Indians. 

*  Teit,  The  Thompson  River  Indians,  vol.  ii.  of  the  Ameri- 
can Museum  of  Natural  History  Memoirs,  New  York,  1900. 

Melanesians. 

*Codrington,  The  Melanesians,  Oyiioxd,  1891. 
Danks,   Marriage  Customs  of  the  New  Britain  Group,  in 
Journal  of  the  Anthropological  Institute,  xviii.,  281-294. 

*Data  compiled  in  Notes  D. 


Introduction  3 

Slave  and  Gold  Coast  Africans. 

*  Ellis,  The  Tshi-speaking  Peoples  of  the  Gold  Coast  of  West 
Africa^  London,  1887. 

*  The  Ewe-speaking  Peoples  of  the    Slave  Coast  of  West 
Africa^  London,  1890. 

*  The  Yoruba-speaking  peoples  of  the  Slave  Coast  of  West 
Africa^  London,  1894. 

Post,  Afrikanische  Jurisprudenz^  Oldenburg  and  Leipzig, 
1887. 

McLennan,  Studies  in  Ancient  History  (Second  Series), 
London  and  New  York,  1896,  pp.  405-483. 

Kabyles. 

*  Hanoteau  and  Letourneux,  La  Kabylie  et  les  coutumes 
Kabyles,  Paris,  1893. 

Ancient  Arabs. 

*  The  Qur  An,  vols.  vi.  and  ix.,  in  Sacred  Books  of  the 
East,  edited  by  F.  Max  Muller,  Oxford,  1900. 

Robertson-Smith,  The  History  of  Marriage  and  Kinship 
in  Ancient  Arabia,  London,  1903. 
Ancient  Hebrews. 

*  The  Pentateuch. 

Lichtschein,  Die  Eke  nach  mosaisch-talmudischer  Auffas- 
sung  und  das  fnosaisch-talmudische  Ehere»ht,  Leipzig,  1879. 

Ancient  Babylonians. 

*  The  Code  of  Hammurabi,  edited  by  R.  F.  Harper,  Chi- 
cago, 1904. 

Ancient  and  Modern  Chinese. 

*  Lt  Ki,  translated  by  James  Legge,  vols,  xxvii.  and  xxviii. 
in  Sacred  Books  of  the  East,  Oxford,  1885. 

De  Groot,  The  Religious  System  of  China,  Leyden,  1894. 
Ta    Tsing   Leu   Lee,  translated   by  Sir   George  Thomas 
Staunton,  London.  1810. 
Ancient  Hindus. 

*  The  Laws  of  Manu,  vol.  xxv.,  in  Sacred  Books  of  the 
East,  Oxford,  1886. 

*  Data  compiled  in  Notes  D» 


The  Family 


Ancient  Greeks. 

The  Iliad  and  the  Odyssey,  translated  by  Butcher  and 
Lang,  Boston,  1882. 

Keller,  Homeric  Society :  A  Sociological  Study  of  the  Iliad 
and  Odyssey,  London,  1902. 
Ancient  Romans. 

*  The  Institutes  of  Gaius  and  Justinian. 
Ancient  Welch. 

Ancient  Laws  and  Institutes  of  Wales,  1841. 
Ancient  Irish 

Ancient  Laws  of  Ireland,  Dublin  and  London,  1865. 
Anglo-Saxons. 

Ancient  Laws  and  Institutes  of  England,  1840, 

Roeder,  Die  Familie  bei  den  A?igelsachscn,  Halle,  1899. 

Howard,  A  History  of  Matrimonial  Institutions,  Part  11. , 
Chicago  and  London,  1904. 
Modern  French. 

*  French  Civil  Code,  tr.  by  Cachard,  London,  1895. 
Glasson,  Le  mariage  civil  et  le  divorce,  Paris. 

The  People  of  the  United  States. 

Records  of  the  Governor  and  Company  of  Massachusetts 
Bay,  Boston,  1853. 

The  Public  Records  of  the  Colony  of  Connecticut,  edited  by 
J.  H.  Trumbull,  Hartford,  1 850-1 890. 

The  Records  of  New  Amsterdam  from  i6jj  to  1674,  edited 
by  B.  Fernow,  New  York,  1897. 

Blackstone's  Commentaries  j  Kent's  Cotnmentaries. 

*  Schouler,  A  Treatise  on  the  Law  of  the  Domestic  Rela- 
tions, Boston,  1895. 

Bishop,  New  Commentaries  on  Marriage,  Divorce,  and 
Separation,  Chicago,  1891. 

Howard,  A  History  of  Matrimonial  Institutions,  Part  HL 

REPORTS  BY  THE  STUDENTS 
Lecture  2: 

State    customary    duration    of    lactation    period, 

♦  Data  compiled  in  Notes  D. 


Introduction  5 

causes,  If  they  exist,  for  disuse  of  function,  customary 
age  at  marriage,  at  initiation  of  youth  or  majority. 
State  other  facts  showing  fihal  dependence  or  in- 
dependence. Describe  initiation  or  majority  cere- 
monial. 

Lecture  3: 

State  usual  number  of  births  per  family.  Describe, 
if  they  exist,  infanticide,  abortion,  etc.,  practices ;  also 
public  opinion  on  subject,  and  implicit  or  alleged 
reasons  for  practices.  State  conditions  making  off- 
spring desirable  or  undesirable  and  facts  in  addition 
to  infanticide,  etc.,  suggestive  of  public  feeling  on 
subject. 

Lecture  4: 

State  facts  showing  parental  ownership  or  control 
and,  if  it  exists,  of  kinsfolks'  share  in  control. 

Lecture  5: 

State  facts  indicating  prevailing  type  of  parent- 
hood ;  also  facts  showing  parental  sympathy  or  solici- 
tude for  good  of  offspring.  Describe  differences  in 
education  of  boys  and  girls. 

Lecture  6: 

Describe  treatment  of  the  unchaste  before  mar- 
riage, of  the  adulterer  or  adulteress  rapist,  seducer, 
prostitute,  illegitimate  child. 

Lecture  7: 

Describe  prevailing  forms  of  marriage  and,  in 
polygamy,  relations  between  the  wives  or  between 
the  husbands.  Describe  lot  of  widow,  of  divorced 
woman,  and  of  offspring  of  divorced  irents ;  also 
procedure  and  causes  of  divorce. 


6  The  Family 

Lecture  8: 

State   in   what  ways  sexual  choice,  (i)   of   youth 
of   both    sexes,    (2)   of    mature  men    and  women,  is 
limited,    describinc^    punishments    for   breaking   pre- 
vailing social  regulations  of  sexual  choice. 
Lecture  9: 

Describe  betrothal  and  marriage  ceremonial.  State 
extent  of  wife's  ties  to  her  family  after  her  marriage. 
Describe  conjugal  duties  and  obligations.  State  in 
what  ways  wife  is  excluded  from  husband's  interests, 
occupations,  etc.  * 

Lecture  10: 

Describe  economic  activities  of  wife  and  of  husband. 
State  facts  showing  whether  wife  is  considered  a  chat- 
tel to  be  disposed  of  at  husband's  pleasure  or  at  that 
of  his  heirs,  or  whether  she  is  herself  a  property  owner. 
Lecture  ii: 

State  method  of  reckoning  descent  and  of  com- 
puting kinship.  Describe  facts  of  fictitious  parent- 
hood, various  kinds  of  adoption,  etc. 

Lecture  12: 

Describe  prevailing  kinship  groups,  giving  in 
detail  religious,  economic,  and  juridical  ties  of  group. 
Lecture   13: 

Describe  as  in  Lecture  12. 
Lecture   14: 

Describe  as  in  Lecture  12. 

Lecture   15: 

Present  analysis  of  highest  ethical  type  of  family. 

The  questionyiaire  in  the  Appendix  will  be  suggest- 
ive to  advanced  students  in  their  work  of  analysis. 


Introduction  7 

Notes  D  are  intended  to  present  the  most  striking 
facts  upon  which  the  topical  outlines  are  based  in  a 
clear  and  condensed  form.  Such  facts  are  too  fre- 
quently stated  in  such  a  scattered  way  that  they 
merely  serve  to  bewilder  the  reader.  The  order 
observed  in  tabulating  both  groups  and  facts  is  that 
which  will  best  illustrate  the  topical  treatment.  To- 
wards the  end  of  the  course  the  instructor  may  find 
it  a  profitable  exercise  for  the  students  to  group 
together  the  familial  characteristics  of  each  com- 
munity, comparing  the  actual  development  of  the 
family  within  each  community  and  the  familial 
characteritsics  of  one  community  with  those  of 
another  with  the  criteria  of  family  development  that 
are  suggested  in  the  lecture  outlines.  Many  irregu- 
larities will,  of  course,  be  found,  and  the  peculiar 
social  conditions  to  which  they  are  due  will  have  to 
be  explained.  The  groups  described  in  Notes  D  in- 
clude those  cited  and  starred  in  the  foregoing  list, 
and,  as  already  stated,  these  brief  summaries  may 
enable  the  instructor  to  keep  a  close  watch  with- 
out much  expenditure  of  time  upon  the  special 
work  of  each  student. 

In  case  of  translation  from  a  non-English  source, 
althouofh,  for  the  sake  of  condensation,  a  close  trans- 
lation  has,  in  many  cases,  not  been  made,  yet  great 
care  has  been  taken  that  the  exact  meaning  should 
not  suffer  through  condensation. 

At  his  first  report  the  student  should  give  a  gen- 
eral description  of  the  people  whose  family  organisa- 
tion he  is  to  study  in  detail.  It  should  be  based  on 
reference  reading  assigned  to  him  during  the  first  lec- 
ture hour.     The  bounds  and  nature  of  the  inhabited 


8  The  Family 

territory,  the  size  of  the  group,  its  modes  of  sub- 
sistence, its  economic  and  political  classes,  and  its 
general  social  organisation,  tribal,  monarchical,  demo- 
cratic, etc.,  should  be  noted  and  reported.  In  par- 
ticular, the  prevailing  means  in  general  of  enforcing 
custom  should  be  noted.  Whenever  possible  (our  in- 
formation is  sometimes  deplorably  scant  in  this  con- 
nection) the  nature  of  the  sanction  for  the  custom 
should  be  given.  Post's  Grimdriss  der  ethnologischen 
Jurisprudeiiz  will  prove  a  valuable  reference  book  for 
this  purpose.  Other  general  data  may  be  obtained 
from  standard  encyclopedias,  from  historical  works 
like  Rogers's  A  History  of  Babylonia  and  Assyria, 
vol.  i..  New  York  and  Cincinnati,  1900 ;  Paton's 
The  Early  History  of  Syria  and  Palestine,  New 
York,  1901  ;  Barton's  A  Sketch  of  Semitic  Origi7is, 
New  York  and  London,  1902  ;  or  from  recent  works 
on  general  anthropology  such  as  Deniker's  The  Races 
of  Ma7t,  London,  1901  ;  or  Keane's  EtJuiology,  Cam- 
bridge, 1891,  and  Man,  Past  and  Present,  Cambridge, 
1899.  Stanford's  Compendiui7t  of  Geography  a7id 
Travel,  London,  1878-1885,  and  Mill's  International 
GeograpJiy,  New  York,  1900,  London,  1903,  are  also 
useful  reference  books.  The  student  should  also,  at 
this  time,  give  an  account  of  the  source  or  sources 
of  authority  which  he  is  to  draw  upon  in  his  special 
study. 

In  view  of  what  has  already  been  said,  it  is  perhaps 
unnecessary  to  suggest  that  the  expository  method  of 
lecturing  be  practised  as  little  as  possible.  In  addi- 
tion to  the  constant  calling  forth  of  the  students' 
knowledge  of  the  groups  which  are  their  special  sub- 
jects of  study,  the  instructor  may  greatly  stimulate 


Introduction  9 

the  students'  interest  by  asking  questions  anticipatory 
of  the  ideas  to  be  developed  in  the  topical  outline. 
I  know  of  nothing  more  stimulating  in  the  lecture- 
room  than  such  anticipatory  questions.  In  illus- 
tration, the  following  questions  suggest  themselves : 

If  prolongation  of  the  period  of  suckling  is  part  of 
the  lengthening  out  of  infancy  from  lower  to  higher 
orders  among  mammals,  why  is  it  that  a  shortening 
of  the  lactation  period  goes  on  among  human  groups 
pari passti  with  advances  in  general  culture  ? 

What  is  the  most  general  reason  for  the  killing  of 
one  child  in  a  twin  birth  ? 

What  is  the  chief  way  by  which  the  child  adapts 
himself  to  his  environment  ? 

What  effects  upon  parenthood  has  a  very  marked 
segregation  of  the  sexes  ? 

How  does  the  form  of  sexual  intercourse  affect 
offspring  ? 

What  relation  has  there  been  between  the  form 
and  the  duration  of  marriage  ? 

What  restrictions  are  there  in  different  social 
groups,  your  own,  for  example,  upon  absolute  free- 
dom of  sexual  choice  ? 

How  may  descent  be  reckoned  ? 

What  is  the  criterion  of  a  developed  type  of  family  ? 

II.  It  is  no  easy  task  for  an  instructor  to  arrange 
for  systematic  observation  by  his  students  of  particu- 
lar social  facts  in  their  environment.  The  facts  must 
be  neither  too  familiar  nor  too  novel  or  inaccessible. 
In  the  first  case,  the  student  will  overlook  them  or  will 
find  it  difficult  to  look  at  them  from  a  scientific  point 
of  view,  — they  have  become  so  much  a  part  of  his  ex- 
perience from  a  different  standpoint.     In  the  second 


lo  The  Family 

case,  conditions  of  observation  may  require  an  unjusti- 
fiable amount  of  the  student's  time,  or  the  difficulties 
of  classification  may  be  excessive.  After  using  the 
following  method  of  field  work  for  six  years,  I  submit 
it  here,  in  considerable  detail,  because  it  seems  to  meet 
the  aforesaid  requirements,  and  because  in  general  it 
fits  in  with  the  lecture  outlines. 

The  student  is  to  pay  weekly  visits  to  two  or  more 
families  with  whom  she^  has  been  previously  unac- 
quainted. This  visiting  may  be  arranged  for  through 
the  local  Charity  Organisation  Society,  or  through 
any  relief  society  that  makes  use  of  the  volunteer 
"  friendly  visitor"  in  its  work,  or  in  any  other  way  that 
suggests  itself.  Whatever  method  is  employed,  the 
visiting  must  be  systematic,  and  there  must  be  some 
reason  other  than  that  of  getting  information  in  sight. 
It  is  preferable  for  the  visiting  to  start  on  a  business 
rather  than  a  charitable  footing.  The  social  relations 
of  those  visited  are,  in  the  former  case,  more  normal, 
and  their  attitude  to  the  visitor  is  more  frank  and 
friendly.  Insurance  or  rent  collecting  might,  under 
special  circumstances,  serve  this  purpose.  But,  wher- 
ever the  penny  provident  saving  system  is  established, 
weekly  visits  in  the  character  of  penny  provident  col- 
lector from  the  penny  provident  station  of  the  given 
neighbourhood,  preferably  a  station  in  a  social  settle- 
ment, is,  for  women  students  at  least,  undoubtedly  the 
best  arrangement.  It  will  be  well  to  limit  the  families 
to  those  living  in  a  particular  neighbourhood,  presum- 

'  This  particular  style  of  visiting  has  been  followed  only  by  women  students; 
but  it  would  probably  be  practicable  for  men  students  with  certain  changes  of 
detail.  The  visits  would  have  to  be  paid  at  times  when  the  men  of  the  fami- 
lies were  at  home. 


Introduction  1 1 

ably  that  of  the  "  station."  Families  living  in  the  same 
house,  or  near-by  houses,  may  be  in  charge  of  the  same 
collector.  This  arrangement  economises  the  time  of 
the  student,  it  seems  more  natural  to  the  depositors, 
and  it  gives  the  student  opportunities  to  learn  of  the 
relations  of  neighbours  to  neighbours. 

A  note-book  is  to  be  provided  for  each  family,  and 
the  facts  observed  at  each  visit  are  to  be  promptly  and 
carefully  recorded  by  the  student.  No  attempt  at 
classification  is  to  be  made  in  keeping  the  note-books 
The  student  should  be  told  to  record  whatever  she 
considers  a  social  fact  or  a  fact  which  bears  in  some 
way  or  other  upon  the  social  life  of  the  family.  A  mass 
of  heterogeneous  material  will  doubtless  result.  After 
the  first  two  or  three  visits,  the  instructor  is  to  start 
the  student  at  work  on  the  tabular  classification  of  such 
facts  as  are  called  for  by  the  series  of  schedules  given 
on  pages  16-19. 

The  instructor  may  put  a  model  schedule  on  the 
blackboard  or  prepare  one  for  each  student.  In 
the  latter  case,  the  student  should,  herself,  prepare  the 
schedules  needed  for  the  second  or  third  family.  The 
average  student  is  curiously  unskilful  in  preparing 
tabular  forms.  The  material  used  should  be  a  rather 
stiff  cardboard,  which  may  or  may  not  be  red-ruled  in 
advance.  In  the  latter  case,  the  ruling  should  be  hori- 
zontal only,  allowing  for  varying  proportions  for  the 
subdivisions.  The  recording  should  never  be  crowded ; 
more  space  may  be  obtained  by  adding  together,  by 
means  of  glued  paper,  two  or  more  blanks  for  one  sub- 
ject. The  records  of  each  family  should  be  kept 
separate  in  a  large  manila-paper  envelope  labelled  with 
the  name  of  the  family.     It  will  be  well  to  give  the 


12  The  Family 

schedules  out  one  at  a  time  as  the  corresponding  topics 
are  discussed  in  the  lecture-room.  It  is  good  practice 
for  the  students  to  put  tentative  schedules  on  the 
blackboard  before  receiving  the  model  schedule  from 
the  instructor.  Naturally,  there  is  nothing  final  about 
the  proposed  scheme  of  classification.  In  fact  the 
student  should  be  encouraged  to  chans^e  or  add  to  the 
classification,  these  changes  to  be  accepted,  however, 
by  all  the  students. 

The  student  should  be  required  to  give  a  source 
of  authority  for  every  statement.  Each  person  from 
whom  information  is  received  should  be  numbered, 
and  the  same  number  should  refer  to  the  same  person 
throughout  the  set  of  schedules.  Towards  the  end  of 
the  observation  period,  the  student  shouldalso  indicate, 
in  connection  with  each  statement  where  the  record 
is  incomplete,  the  reason  or  reasons  for  the  lack  of 
information.  Recurrent  reasons,  such  as  ignorance 
or  unwillingness  to  talk  on  the  part  of  the  person 
questioned,  may  be  indicated  in  a  way  similar  to  the 
method  of  giving  sources  of  authority,  using  letters 
instead  of  numbers.  Special  reasons  for  lack  of  in- 
formation maybe  given  on  the  back  of  the  respective 
schedules.  This  plan  tends  to  make  the  investigation 
of  the  student  more  thorough,  as  well  as  helping  the 
instructor  to  point  out  quickly  to  her  her  shortcom- 
ings. Moreover,  in  cases  where,  owing  to  peculiar 
reticence,  or  suspicion,  or  indifference,  it  is  unusually 
difficult  for  the  visitor  to  secure  the  desired  informa- 
tion, she  is  less  apt  to  become  discouraged  when  she 
can  make  plain  the  particular  disadvantages  under 
which  she  is  working. 

A  proper  use  of  the  note-book  and  schedules,  i.e.^ 


Introduction 


13 


discrimination  in  observing  facts  having  a  direct 
bearing  upon  the  particular  family  study,  truly  sig- 
nificant facts,  and  accuracy  and  completeness  of 
statement  in  recording,  requires,  in  most  cases,  a 
special  training  of  the  individual  student  and  a 
thorough  oversight  of  her  work.  This  can  only  be 
accomplished  through  weekly  consultations  with  the 
instructor.  The  following  entries  made  during  an 
actual  course  of  instruction  are  characteristic  of  the 
work  of  the  average  untrained  student  and  illustrate 
the  kind  of  correction  called  for. 


Student's  Record 

Johnny. 

In  hospital  2  years 

ago. 
Nursed  baby. 


Goes  to  Sunday 
School.  Doesn't 
know  the  exact 
address. 


Record  Corrected  according  to 
Instructor's  Suggestions 

Johnny':    John  Joseph  [patron  saint] 

Brown.' 

Two  weeks  in  March,"  1898.' 

Suckled  by  mother  "about  two  years.'" 
Fed  "whenever  he  cried.""  (These 
facts  recorded  in  note-book,  but  not 
given  on  schedules.) 
No  other  food.  *  Cp.  date  of  birth  of 
Thomas  Brown  (showing  that  mother 
was  pregnant  during  latter  part  of  lacta- 
tion period). 

Sunday  School  "  round  the  corner"  * 
(All  Saints  Church  S.  S.,  128  East  39).' 
"  Off  and  on  for  three  years  "  "  (1897-). 
Sunday,  10.30  a.  M., 3,  4, 1900,  at  home', 
"  Don't  want  to  go  to  S.  S.  to-day."  ' 
Hours  of  S.  S.  9.30-10.45."  "I  like 
to  have  him  go  to  get  him  out  of  the 
way." ' 


'  Personal  observation. 

'  Eliza  Stewart  Brown  (Mother). 

^John  Joseph  Brown. 

•  Person  answering  does  not  remember  exactly. 


14  The  Family 

Discrimination,  accuracy,  etc.,  and  thoroughness  are 
not  all  that  is  required  of  the  student  if  she  is  to  become 
a  skilled  social  observer.  She  must  show  a  consider- 
able amount  of  sympathy  and  tact  as  well.  If  she  is 
not  already  possessed  of  these  traits,  of  course  she 
will  find  it  a  hard  task  to  acquire  them  for  any  special 
occasion.  But  even  here  the  instructor  can  be  of 
help  in  leading  the  student  to  note  the  resemblances 
as  well  as  the  differences  between  herself  and  those 
visited,  and  in  suggesting  subjects  for  friendly  conver- 
sation. It  may  happen  that  the  student  is  ordinarily 
a  so-called  responsive  person,  but  that  in  her  visit- 
ing she  feels  constrained  by  the  idea  that  she  is  an 
unwarrantable  and  deceptive  intruder  upon  family 
privacy.  She  feels  hypocritical  in  asking  questions 
or  in  directing  conversation  along  the  lines  suggested 
by  the  schedule  classifications.  I  think  this  doubt 
may  be  cleared  away  if  she  is  made  to  see  clearly  the 
many  ways  in  which,  in  addition  to  the  teaching  of 
thrift,  if  she  is  a  penny  provident  collector,  she  may 
be  of  service  to  the  family  she  is  visiting.  She  may 
encourage  the  children  to  be  regular  in  school  at- 
tendance, or  she  may  find  a  place  in  a  neighbouring 
kindergarten  for  a  younger  child.  She  may  persuade 
some  member  of  the  family  to  join  a  club  in  the 
church  or  settlement  or  become  a  member  of  the 
circulating  library.  In  times  of  illness  she  may  refer 
the  family  to  the  best  dispensary  or  hospital,  or  she 
may  secure  the  service  of  a  district  nurse  for  them. 
She  may  see  to  it  that  neglected  eyes  or  throat  or 
teeth  are  attended  to.  She  may  make  suggestions 
in  regard  to  ventilation,  to  exercise,  or  even  to 
the  more  healthful  dressing  or  feeding  of  the  child- 


Introduction  15 

ren.*  No  doubt  much  of  this  information  the  student 
will  have  to  first  learn  for  herself,  particularly  in  regard 
to  the  institutional  opportunities  of  the  neighbourhood. 
This  leads  to  the  second  consideration,  which  ought 
to  overweigh  in  her  mind  any  feeling  of  unfairness  or 
bad  taste.  Through  this  education  in  practical  philan- 
thropy, through  this  acquaintance  with  institutional 
methods  as  well  as  with  the  special  needs  of  special 
families,  she  is  fitting  herself  for  many  forms  of  social 
usefulness.  She  may  consider  the  families  she  visits 
unconscious  partners,  so  to  speak,  through  the  experi- 
ences they  give  her,  in  her  coming  social  service. 

'  Clews,  Field  Work  in  Teaching   Sociology  in   Educational  Review,  Sep- 
Umber,  1900. 


i6 


The  Family 


< 

o 

o 

< 
> 
Pi 

w 

C/2 

PQ 
C 

Pi 

o 

en 

hJ 
t3 
O 

Pi 
o 

o 

;?; 

(—1 

p 
< 


^^    .« 

o02^ 

ort 
elie 
ices 

o.^  - 

sup 
nts( 
prac 

rt  Hn 

■^  d  a 

\r,^'^ 

ental 
pro- 
e  at 
rk; 

sym- 
:ions 
ents 

od  of  par 
port  and 
ion.    [Ag 
ing  to  wo 

economic  and 
pathetic  relal 
between  pan 

wage-eai 
pring  (be 
d  practice 

•C    CLo    O 

S    3    U    t^ 

(!,./>*- 

cl   O 

•  -rrr      >> 

o^        ^ 

al  pra 
beliei 
ve  of 
■mpat' 

"o  i» 

(U  " 

If)  J3 

cxJ-x:  5^ 

S'3 

1/1    c 

o  c  rt  _; 

"S  ^.i^    0! 

O 

•^  ^'S  c 

T3    O, 

•T3    <u     *-     <U 

s  Ji 

-"       a, 

o    2,^ 

2  f^  o 

3    C      - 

rQ    •-      W 

1>  .in    c« 
O    c!  -- 

►TH     W     TO 


.5  -.n  f  "2 


3    3      ,__ 
OJ    D    -3    JJ 

(u  o.S Pi 


u 

-a  c 

C   rt 

—  C 
O  <u 
O  tj 

u 


-ic3*t:;fc-»-i.— .UTO 


5    cs    a!    ui    o    "  J3    4> 


3    •-         ^  IJ.S 

£/j  S  S  c^  rt  i^  o  " 


•^5 


rt 

i-i 

^ 

,o 

cl 

D 

o 

T3 

a> 

TS 

c 

c3 

« 

Introduction 


17 


MARRIAGE 


.Family 


Name. 


Date  of  mar- 
riage (or  mar- 
riages; duration 
of  widow-  or 
widower-hood). 


Courtship 
(acquaintance 
w.th  bi.de  or 
groom  befo-e 
marriage;  inci- 
dents of  court- 
ship; preferred 
traits  in  bride 
or  groom;  rea- 
sons for  marry- 
ing; economic 
provisions  for 
marriage;  wed- 
ding). 


Division  of 
labour  and  eco- 
nomic direction 

of  household 
since  marriage. 


Sympathetic 
relations  and 
common  inter- 
ests of  husband 
and  wife. 


KINSFOLK 


.Family 


Name. 


Position  among 
kinsfolk. 


Past  and  present 
residences. 


Communication  and 
intercourse.     (Visits. 
Aid:  gifts  and  personal 
service.    Letters.    Photo- 
graphs.) 


Many  other  schedules  referring  to  the  economic 
and  cultural  conditions  and  traits  of  the  family  may 
be  planned  as  exercises  in  tabular  record-keeping. 
For  example : 


i8 


The  Family 


t-H 

C 


*© 

I 

,«    "   tlfl 

•c   ^   S 

0    3    0, 

^    C    U 

^-^J^ 

S 

,            ^          ^ 

■gi-S.^o 

(/)    c      '**"    Cifl 

O  o  ^  >—  c 

r;  •-  c£  o  •- 

U  -  rt        ^ 

aJ 

ii 

3 

C 

M 

3 

^ 

O 

■-• 

3 

.a 

;n 

J,  u5 

U5 

3    > 

a 

O    o 

o 

o 

■Si 

0^ 

>-' . 

^^ 

£-^ 

3    O 

« 

c 

.2 

c 

V 

s 

S 

v 

Ul 

D 

^ 

c 

u 

Pi 

-fi .      1 

.   .  c.a'^-o 

ion  of  resi- 
(street  ad- 
descriptio 
ding  in  wh 
is  placed,  ( 
nding  buil 
gs,  etc.). 

.-ti    D    .  .  —           3    C         1 

Posi 
dene 
dress 
f  bui 
home 
surro 
i: 

1 

o                     1 

Introduction 


19 


The   following   arrangement   for   facts  which   the 
student  has  failed  to  classify  will  be  of  service^: 

INTERESTING  FACTS  STILL  UNCLASSIFIED 


Date  of 
Observation. 


.Family 


Subsequent 
Classification. 


The  following  books  and  articles  will  be  of  practical 
service  to  the  penny  provident  visitor : 

Balch ,  Suggestions  for  a  Study  of  Conditioris  of 
City  Life,  Boston,  1904;  Richmond,  Friendly  Visit- 
ing; Hunter,  The  Savings  Society  of  Newport,  in 
The  Charities  Review,  October,  1899;  Holt,  The 
Care  and  Feeding  of  Children,  New  York  and  London, 
1903.  Of  particular  use  in  New  York  City  will  be 
Charities  Directory,  published  every  year  by  the 
Charity  Organization  Society  ;  Dinwiddie,  The  Ten- 
ants Manual,  Greenwich  House  Publications  No.  i, 
New  York  City,  1903;  Herzfeld,  Family  Mono- 
graphs,'H&'n  York  City,   1905. 

'  A  like  plan  may  be  followed  in  the  card  system  used  in  the  ethnographic 
or  historical  group  studies  in  the  case  of  facts  for  which,  because  of  their 
limited  bearing  or  exceptional  nature,  no  place  is  found  in  the  topical  outlines. 


The  biological 


LECTURE  I 

THE  MEANING  OF  THE  FAMILY   IN   EVOLUTION 

THE  lengthening  of  infancy  is  an  important  step  in 
the  evolution  of  the  higher  forms  of  life.  Crea- 
tures low  in  the  scale  of  life  are  born  possessed  of  all 
the  characteristics  of  their  species.  As  Mr.  Fiske  has 
worded  it,  they  get  their  education  before  they  are 
born.  There  is  little  chance  for  individual  variation. 
More  complex  organisations,  on  the  other  hand,  are 
born  in  a  more  or  less  plastic  state.  Their  develop- 
ment continues  after  birth.  This  plasticity,  this  ca- 
pacity for  development,  makes  individual  variation 
possible,  and  individual  variation  is  the  key  to  natural 
selection.^ 
The  value  of  I  ufaucy — aud  by  this  term  we  mean  the  whole  period 

parental  care  q£  immaturity  after  birth — is  a  more  or  less  helpless 

and  dependent  state.  In  order  that  organisms  may 
survive  this  period,  protection  is  necessary.  Parental 
care  is  an  important  means  of  protection.  We  find 
that  as  infancy  is  prolonged  in  the  progress  of  species, 
the  care  given  to  offspring  by  parents  is  increased. 
It  extends  over  a  longer  period  and  it  is  directed  more 
and  more  towards  the  total  welfare  of  offspring.  The 
need  of  a  potentially  many-sided  and  enduring  kind  of 

Although  recent  contributions  to  the  theory  of  variation,  notably  the 
re-introduced  Mendelian  theory,  greatly  affect  the  Darwinian  theory  of  natural 
selection,  nevertheless  the  evolutionary  significance  of  the  prolongation  of 
infancy  and  of  the  family  remains  unchanged.  See  Morgan,  Evolution  and 
Adaptation,  New  York  and  London,  1903,  chap.  viii. 

20 


Meaning  of  the  Family  in  Evolution      21 

parental  care  is  filled  through  the  social  group  we  call 
the  family.^ 

The  family  has  been  only  one  of  the  many  forms  of  The  relation  of  the 
association  that   have  served  in  the  evolution  of  life.  ^*""'^  *°  evolution 
The  ability  to  leave  progeny  is  one  of  the  success 
winning  characters  in  the  struggle  of  natural  selection. 
This  ability  is  greatly  enhanced  through  the  family. 
It  will  be  our  task  to  learn,  through  a  study  of  family 
structure,  how  in  the  care  of  offspring  the  function  of 
the  family  form  of  association  has  been  performed.^ 

In  the  lower  forms  of  animal  life,  not  to  consider  The  development  of 
the  lowest  forms  of  all,  where  generation  by  gemma-  Eltwlt^arent?" 
tion  or  by  fission  occurs,  post-natal  relations  between  "**  offspring 
parents  and  offspring  either  do  not  exist  at  all  or  are 
of  the  most  transient  nature.  In  many  species  of  fish 
and  amphibia  external  fertilisation  takes  place ;  the 
female  deposits  her  ova  and  the  male  sprinkles  them 
with  his  milt.  The  fertilised  eggs  are  then  hatched 
without  the  aid  of  either  parent.  In  other  species 
there  is  internal  fertilisation,  and  the  fertilised  eggs 
are  retained  in  the  ovary  or  oviduct  of  the  female 
until  they  are  hatched.  The  males  of  several  species 
carry  the  fertilised  eggs  until  hatched  in  their  mouths 
or  in  pouches  of  overlapping  skin  on  the  under  side  of 
their  body.  The  males  of  other  species  make  nests 
of  seaweed  or  scrape  holes  in  mud  or  gravel  for  the 
fertilised  eggs.     In  a  comparatively  small  number  of 

*  By  the  term  /amify  we  shall  mean  parents  and  their  offspring.  Qualifying 
expressions  will  be  used  in  referring  to  larger  kinship  groups. 

'  It  is  difficult,  if  not  impossible,  to  distinguish  sharply  between  physiologi- 
cal and  social  facts  in  family  relations.  The  growth  of  parental  sympathy, 
for  example,  is  undoubtedly  a  social  fact,  but  it  is  equally  certain  that  its  gene- 
sis lies  in  physiological  activities.  Therefore,  in  discussing  the  beginnings  of 
parental  relations,  we  shall  not  attempt  to  differentiate  between  social  and 
physiological  facts. 


2  2  The  Family 

species  the  females  are  viviparous.  Among  the  fe- 
males of  a  great  many  species  of  amphibia,  external 
sac-gestation  is  the  rule.  In  several  species  the  male 
helps  to  place  the  extruded  eggs  in  the  hatching  sacs. 
With  one  exception,  internal  fertilisation  characterises 
the  class  of  reptiles,  and  the  higher  species  are  vivipar- 
ous. A  few  species  of  oviparous  snakes  incubate 
their  eggs.  Among  birds  the  incubating  habit  is  fully 
developed.  The  lowest  species  scrape  holes  in  the 
sand  for  their  eggs,  and  the  males  are  the  sole  or  chief 
brooders.  Many  of  the  young  of  the  higher  species 
are  hatched  blind,  all  are  hatched  naked  and  depend- 
ent upon  their  parents  for  warmth  and  nourishment. 
The  young  of  mammals  are  born,  after  a  more  or  less 
prolonged  period  of  gestation,  still  more  helpless. 
The  females  of  certain  species  of  marsupials,  an  order 
low  in  the  class,  carry  and  suckle  their  young  in  ab- 
dominal pouches  for  several  months  after  birth.  In 
the  higher  orders  of  mammals,  the  characteristic  pro- 
cess of  lactation  is  more  developed  than  in  the  lower. 
The  process  of  gestation  is  also  more  developed. 
The  attachment  between  the  foetus  and  the  uterus  is 
closer.  The  nutrition  of  the  foetus  is  more  direct. 
The  area  of  attachment  is  called  the  placenta  and  the 
higher  orders  of  mammals,  in  which  it  is  larger  and 
more  complex,  are  called  the  placentia.  As  the  at- 
tachment becomes  still  more  complex,  X\\^ placentia  are 
divided  into  the  non-deciduate,  in  which  the  attach- 
ment is  less  complex  and  the  response  of  the  uterus 
to  the  needs  of  the  foetus  less  immediate,  and  the  de- 
ciduate,  in  which  the  attachment  is  more  complex  and 
is  detached  from  the  uterus  after  birth.  The  young 
of  the  deciduate  place7itia  are  all  born  quite  feeble 


Meaning  of  the  Family  in  Evolution      23 

and  incapable  of  maintaining  their  own  temperature. 
Among  the  lemurs,  monkeys,  and  apes,  the  placental 
attachment  is  still  more  complex,  gestation  longer,  and 
the  post-natal  relations  of  parents  and  offspring  more 
permanent.  Old-world  monkeys  are  suckled  for  twelve 
months.  They  do  not  reach  maturity  for  four  or  five 
years.  The  young  of  the  gibbon,  the  lowest  genus 
of  apes,  stay  with  the  mother  for  seven  months. 
They  do  not  mature  for  ten  or  more  years.  Female 
orangs  and  chimpanzees  are  accompanied  by  offspring 
of  one  or  two  years  of  age,  even  after  the  birth  of  a 
younger  relative.  A  gorilla  family  consists  of  an  old 
male,  a  female,  and  their  offspring. 

Let  us  now  consider  these  facts  of  developing  parent-  The  relation 
hood  from  the  point  of  view  of  birth- and  death-rates.  ratll"nd  binbl 

In  view  of  the  fact  that  in  the  struggle  for  existence  '''**" 
the  unprotected  egg  of  a  given  species  is  prey  for  a 
great  number  of  other  species,  the  chance  of  its  being 
hatched  or,  if  hatched,  of  reaching  maturity  is  almost 
infinitely  small.  Under  these  conditions  a  species  can 
maintain  itself  only  through  immense  fertility.  To 
offset  an  enormous  death-rate  an  enormous  birth- 
rate is  necessary.  Many  species  of  fish  spawn  by 
thousands  ;  certain  species  even  by  millions.  Of  the 
27,800  eggs  spawned  by  the  female  herring,  for  ex- 
ample, half  are  not  even  fertilised  by  the  male  ;  a  large 
part  of  the  remainder  are  devoured  by  other  fish  and 
by  sea  birds,  and  of  those  that  are  finally  hatched  not 
more  than  one  tenth  survive  six  months.     As  soon  as  The  relation 

...  1      U        between  parental 

the  slightest  trace  of  parental  care  is  discovered  the  care  and  birth-rate 
chance  of   survival  is  increased  and  the  birth-rate  is 
lowered.     Mr.  Sutherland  has  made  some  interesting 
calculations  along  this  line.     Of  fish,  he  states  that 


24  The  Family 

"of  species  that  exhibit  no  sort  of  parental  care,  the  average  of 
forty-nine  gives  1,040,000  eggs  to  a  female  each  year;  while  among 
those  that  make  nests,  or  an  apology  for  nests,  the  number  is  only 
about  10,000.  Among  those  which  have  any  protective  tricks, 
such  as  carrying  the  eggs  in  pouches,  or  attached  to  the  body,  or 
in  the  mouth,  the  average  number  is  1000  ;  while  among  those 
whose  care  takes  the  form  of  a  uterine  or  quasi-uterine  gestation 
which  brings  the  young  into  the  world  alive,  an  average  of  fifty- 
six  eggs  is  quite  sufficient."  * 

The  same  diminution  of  the  birth-rate  accompanies 
the  development  of  parental  care  from  class  to 
class.  The  average  of  seventy-five  well-distributed  and 
typical  species  of  fish  was  found  to  be  646,000  eggs  ;  of 
twenty  species  of  amphibia,  441  eggs;  of  thirty-nine 
species  of  reptiles,  1 7  eggs  ;  of  2000  typical  species  of 
birds,  a  trifle  over  five  eggs  ;  of  eighty-two  typical  spe- 
cies of  mammals,  3.21  offspring  to  each  female  every 
year.  The  higher  orders  of  mammals  taken  together 
average  only  1.3  offspring  each  year,  and  the  apes  and 
mankind  do  not  exceed  one  every  two  years.^ 
The  gain  from  a  Diminution    of  offspring  is  a  threefold  gain  to  a 

diminution  of  ofT-  .  z'     \      t       l  i  '11*  i 

.pring  Species,     (i)   It  lessens  the  vital  drain  upon  the  par- 

ent.^ (2)  It  enables  the  size  and  capacity  of  the 
limited  number  of  offspring  to  be  increased.  (3)  In 
the  case  of  the  higher  developments  of  parental  care 
after  birth,  it  concentrates  the  advantage  of  that  care 
upon  a  few  instead  of  scattering  it,  and  thereby 
weakening  its  influence,  upon  many. 

1  Sutherland,  The  Origin  and  Growth  of  the  Moral  Instinct,  New  York 
and  Bombay,  1898,  i.,  40. 

5  Hid.,  i.,  41. 

^  Of  interest  in  this  connection  is  the  fact  that  among  many  forms  of  vegetal 
life  and  among  some  low  forms  of  animal  life  the  act  of  reproduction  termin- 
ates the  life  of  the  parent. 


Meaning  of  the  Family  in  Evolution       25 

In  a  later  lecture  ^  we  shall  learn  that  many  hu- 
man groups  have  been  more  or  less  conscious  of 
these  advantages,  and  have  more  or  less  purposively 
made  use  of  artificial  means  to  secure  them.*^ 

NOTE    A 

Infancy. 

Fiske,  Essays  of  an  Evolutionist,  chapter  xii.,  The  Mean- 
tng  of  Infancy. 
Association  among  Animals. 

Kropotkin,  Mutual  Aid  a  Factor  of  Evolution,  New  York, 

1902,  chapters  i.-ii. 

Parental  Care  among  Animals. 

Sutherland,  The  Origin  and  Growth  of  the  Moral  Instinct^ 

chapters  ii.-v. 
The  Laws  of  Multiplication. 

Spencer,  Principles  of  Biology ^  ii.,  Part  vi. 

'  Lecture  III. 

'  Infanticide  exists  among  the  lower  animals,  but  is  an  unusual  and  more  or 
less  pathological  fact.     Fere:  L Instinct  sexuel,  Paris,  1899,  pp.  62-65. 


LECTURE   II 

THE    DURATION    OF    PARENTAL    CARE    AMONG    MANKIND 


Length  of  human      T^HE    ninc    months'    gestation    period  of   the  hu- 

gesUtion  I  ...  .  •     i  i 

*       man    mother  is,    m  proportion    to  weight,  the 
longest   known.      The    natural     lactation    period    of 
three  or  four  years  is  also  the  longest  known. 
Artificial  short-  Where  the  food  supply  consists  of  roots,  berries, 

ening  of  lactation  .  . 

period  insects,  fish,  or  game,  lactation  continues  as  long  as 

iowe"ATpeTf°hTn-    the  milk  supply  lasts, — for  three  or  four  years.^    Even 
ters  and  fishers        older    children    are   occasionally    suckled.       Amone 

Usual    among  herd-  -'  o 

era  and  tillers  of  soil  herders  or  tillers  of  the  soil,  the  milk  of  domestic  ani- 
mals or  cereals  are  substitutes  for  mother's  milk,  and 
the  lactation  period    is  from  three  to  two  years  or 

Entirely  artificial  evcH  Icss.^  Modem  milk  analysis  has  made  possible 
the  modification  of  cow's  milk  and  the  preparation 
of  other  foods  in  such  a  way  that  infants  may  be  arti- 
ficially fed  from  birth. 

Wet-nursing  and  Among  supcrlor  economic  classes  the  employment 

fosterage  /•         <•  i  •  A 

of  a  foster-mother  or  nurse  is  not  uncommon.  Among 
groups  where  economic  classes  are  not  to  any  extent 
differentiated,  nurslings  are  sometimes  suckled  by 
foster-mothers  '^  on  the  death  of  the  natural  mother ; 
more  commonly,  however,  they  are  killed.* 

Lacteal  inability  of  the  mother  due  to  habits  of 


Social  causes  of  dis- 
use of  function 


'See  p.  268. 
'See  pp.  279,  299. 
'See  p.  250. 
*See  p.  45. 

26 


Duration  of  Parental  Care  27 

dress  or  unwholesome  ways  of  living  in  general,  un- 
willingness due  to  socially  tolerated  indolence  or 
personal  or  class  vanity,  incompatibility  between 
conditions  of  labour  and  suckling,  the  belief  that 
lactation  prevents  conception,^  the  custom  of  sexual 
abstinence  during  the  lactation  period,^  are  the 
chief  social  causes  of  the  disuse  of  this  maternal 
function. 

Like  other  practices,  the  practice  of  lactation  in  variations  in  ucta. 

f  1.1  tion  habits  from 

any  community  may  vary  trom  class  to  class  or  a  cuss  to  class 
uniform  practice  may  result  from  different  motives.^ 
In  the  modern  industrial    community,  for  example.  Example  from 
where  lactation  for  eight  or  nine  months  followed  by  immunity"*  "* 
artificial   feeding  is   known   to  be  the  best  routine, 
mothers  in  the  wage  classes  frequently  nurse  their  in- 
fants, because  of  ignorance,  poverty,  or  the  desire  to 
prevent  conception,  for  a  period  of  two  years  or  more. 
On  the  other  hand,  mothers  in  the  capitalist  classes 
may  not,  because  of   ignorance  or  indolence,  nurse 
their  infants  at  all.     Again,  entirely  artificial  feeding 
is  not  uncommon  in  the  lower  economic  classes ;  but 
when  it  occurs  it  is  usually  due  to  the  exigencies  of 
the  wage-earning  occupations,  including  wet-nursing, 
engaged  in  by  the  mothers. 

'  See  p.  50. 

'  See  pp.  95,  96. 

2  Whenever  economic  or  cultural  classes  are  differentiated,  it  is  extremely  im- 
portant, in  observation  of  the  societies  to  which  they  belong,  to  note  class 
variations  of  belief,  practice,  or  custom.  All  cultural  stages,  for  example,  are 
probably  represented  in  any  modern  civilisation.  Failure  in  discrimination 
along  this  line,  a  failure  to  which  democracy  is  particularly  prone,  is  responsible 
for  many  social  mistakes,  legislative,  philanthropic,  etc.  For  primitive  family 
practices  and  habits  in  civilisation,  see  p.  34,  Note  A,  (Verrijn,  Booth,  Rown- 
tree);p.  34,  Note  A,  (Wright,  Rowntree);  p.  34  , Note  A,  (Wolf,  Booth) ;  and 
for  class  differentiation  in  general  in  civilisation,  see  Giddings,  Indretive 
Sociology^   pp.  249-264. 


28  The  Family 

Need  of  observation        If  is  uiifortunate  that  information  about  habits  of 

of  lactation  habits  t^  i  i  1        •  i 

lactation  is  so  scant,  racts  about  the  regularity  and 
amount  of  feeding,  the  physical  habits  of  nursing 
mothers,  the  feelings  and  beliefs  of  mothers  about  the 
function,^  should  be  carefully  noted,  both  by  ethno- 
graphers and  observers  of  civil  societies.  These  facts 
are  essential  to  any  comprehensive  study  of  mater- 
nity or  of  public  health  and  education.^ 
Duration  and  na-         AmouQ^  mankind,  as  amouCT  the  lower  animals,  the 

ture  of  parental  care  ^         "  ^ 

among  mankind  in  duratiou  aud  uature  of  parental  care  in  general  more 
^'""^  or  less  correspond  to  the  period  and  degree  of  imma- 

turity characteristic  of  the  offspring,  which,  in  turn, 
more  or  less  correspond  to  the  nature  of  the  environ- 
Eariy  economic  ment.^  Where  the  forms  of  food  and  shelter  in  use 
8pri'n''g"  '"""^  °  °  are  supplied,  for  the  most  part,  directly  by  nature,  such 
as  roots,  seeds,  berries,  fruits,  shell-fish,  etc.,  and  caves, 
trees,  rude  huts  of  bark  or  wood,  children  from  seven 
to  ten  years  old,  or  even  younger,  in  some  cases  soon 
after  they  are  weaned,  may  begin  to  provide  for  them- 
selves. Where,  en  the  other  hand,  the  habits  of  satis- 
fying physical  wants  are  more  or  less  elaborate, 
depending  upon  speed,  strength,  endurance,  cun- 
ning, foresight,  self-control,  persistence,  in  hunting, 
fishing,  cultivating  the  soil,  handicraft,  cattle  raising, 
or  trade,  offspring  may  be  economically  dependent 
upon  parents  up  to  all  ages  from  ten  to  twenty. 
Postponement  of     With  the  growth  of  knowledge  and  of  specialisation, 

economic  independ-       .  ..  -  .  '-il  '111 

encc  of  offspring  the  productiou  oi  ccrtain  social  values,  as  in  all  the 
so-called  learned  professions  of  to-day,  for  example, 
requires  ever-increasing  degrees  of  intelligence  and 

'  See  p.  96  . 

*  The  recent  British   Inter-departmental  Committee  on  Physical  Deteriora- 
tion has  borne  witness  to  this  statement.     Report,  London,  1904,  pp.  50,  51. 
'  By  environment  we  mean  the  social  as  well  as  the  natural  surroundings. 


The  Duration  of  Parental  Care  29 

training.  This  class  of  producers  may  even  have  to 
depend  on  parental  support  or  its  substitutes  until 
the  age  of  twenty-six  or  twenty-eight. 

Economic  progress  is  accompanied  by  increase  of  social  education 
size  in  the  group  of  associates  and  by  increase  of 
complexity  in  their  social  organisation,  and  social 
relations  requiring  forethought,  self-control,  and  a 
high  degree  of  sociability  develop.  Although  parents 
are  not  always  the  direct  agents  in  this  social  educa- 
tion, nor  are  they  always  for  that  matter  in  strictly 
economic  education,  nevertheless  prolonged  social 
education  tends  to  prolong  filial  dependence.^  Par- 
ents may,  for  example,  be  called  upon  to  defray  both 
the  direct  and  indirect  expenses  of  social  education, 
i.  e.,  fees  of  initiation  or  membership  in  social  organi-  ' 
sations,  and  the  cost  of  maintenance  in  general  during 
the  acquisition  of  social  experiences. 

Separate    residence   in  special  quarters  for  youth,  pa^tg  indicative  of 
marriage,  so-called  initiatio7i  or  majority  ceremonial,  independence  of 

o     '  J  J  parental  care 

independent  property-holding,  political  privileges,  in- 
dicate the  beginning  of  independence  of  parental 
care. 

It  is  not  uncommon  for  boys  below  puberty,  and,  separate  residence 
although  much  less  frequently,  for  girls  below  nubility, 
to  live  or  sleep  together  in  separate  dwellings.  They 
may  continue  to  be  more  or  less  dependent  for  food 
and  other  things  upon  their  parents.  The  separate 
residence  of  the  marriageable  youth  of  both  sexes 
(again  a  much  more  frequent  circumstance  in  the 
case  of  males  than  females)  in  separate  houses,  often 
organised   as   club-houses,     is  a  still    more    common 

'  Exceptions  occur  in  societies  where  military  and  ecclesiastical  classes  are 
highly  differentiated. 


marriage 


30  The  Family 

arrangement.  We  find  all  kinds  and  degrees  of  home- 
leaving,  from  this  formal  arrangement  to  a  more  or 
less  fortuitous  "  setting  out  to  seek  one's  fortunes." 
On  the  other  hand,  parents  and  offspring  may  con- 
tinue to  live  in  the  same  dwelling  long  after  the  latter 
are  mature.  We  shall  consider  this  fact  of  common 
residence  later  in  connection  with  the  compound 
family.^ 
Customary  age  at  In  this,  as  Well  as  in  other  connections,  the  custo- 
mary age~  at  marriage  is  an  important  fact.  Mar- 
riage frequently  indicates  the  separate  establishment 
of  youth  or  maiden.  Membership  in  a  compound 
family,  as  we  have  seen,  however,  precludes  sepa- 
rate residence  at  marriage  as  well  as  at  other 
times.  We  should  note  that  in  marriage  by  service^ 
the  bride  continues  to  live  for  a  time  under  the  care 
and  protection  of  her  parents.  Parental  care  often 
extends  to  non-resident  married  daughters  and  the 
maltreated  or  deserted  wife  often  returns  to  her  par- 
ents. Sometimes  protection  of  this  kind,  however, 
is  rather  to  be  classed  as  a  function  of  kinship,  like 

»  See  p.  277. 

"  The  age  at  which  puberty  or  nubility  is  reached  is  naturally  an  important 
factor  in  determining  age  at  marriage.  It  varies  with  girls  from  eight  or  ten 
to  eighteen  or  twenty  years  of  age.  The  corresponding  period  with  boys  is 
two  or  three  years  later  and  there  is  probably  in  their  case  less  variation,  de- 
velopment usually  occurring  between  the  ages  of  fourteen  and  eighteen.  The 
causes  behind  this  range  of  age  are  still  obscure.  See  Floss  and  Bartels,  Das 
Weib,  i.,  362-381,  also  Marro,  La  Puberth  studiata  nell  uomo  e  nella  donna." 
Turin,  1901,  chap.  i.  Their  determination  would  be  of  immense  significance 
to  anthropology  in  general  and  to  the  history  of  the  family  in  particular. 

We  should  note  that  the  age  at  which  reproduction  begins  is  often  to  be  dis- 
tinguished from    the  age    at    marriage,  an    important  fact   in  considering   the 
duration  of  infancy.     Even  when  marriage  occurs  after  nubility  it  may  be  cus- 
tomary  to  delay  maternity  for  several  years.     Strictly  speaking  (see  p.  120.) 
Buch  a  relation  is  not  marriage. 

*  See  p.  6a. 


The  Duration  of  Parental  Care  31 

common  residence  in  the  compound  family,  than  as 
an  expression  of  parental  care. 

Initiation  or  majority  ceremonies  are  extremely  sig-  initiation  of 
nificant  in  the  study  of  culture  in  general,  and  in  that 
of  education  and  of  family  structure  in  particular. 
They  are,  as  a  rule,  suggestive  of  the  personal  traits 
thought  to  be  necessary  to  successful  manhood  or 
womanhood  in  the  given  group.  Candidates  may  be 
tested  in  speed,  endurance,  courage,  and  self-control. 
At  this  time  special  group  traditions  of  a  secret 
nature  are  generally  imparted  to  the  young  people. 
Economic  training  and  social  instruction  in  general 
are  often  part  of  the  initiation  ceremonial.  Bodily 
mutilations,  tattooing,  scarification,  nose,  lip,  or  ear 
piercing,  circumcision,  etc.,  are  suffered,  or  special 
ornaments  or  garments  adopted.  At  this  time  taboos 
on  eating  or  hunting  certain  kinds  of  game  may  be 
removed.  The  youth  frequently  is  not  allowed  to 
marry  or  claim  independent  religious,  juridical,  or 
political  rights  until  his  initiation.  Although  he  may 
not  become  independent  of  his  father  or  male  kins- 
men at  initiation,  he  invariably  becomes  independent 
of  his  mother.  Thereafter  he  lives  more  or  less  sepa- 
rated from  her  and  from  his  other  female  relatives.* 
His  club-life  often  begins  at  this  time.  Initiation  Age  at  initiation 
may  take  place  at  puberty  or  several  years  later,  at 
18,  20,  21,  etc.  A  sub-initiation,  so  to  speak,  or  a 
preparatory  ceremonial  sometimes  occurs  also  before 
puberty.  Again  the  ceremonies  may  stretch  over 
several  years.  The  definite  time  of  celebration,  i.e.^ 
the  determination  when  the  candidates  have  reached 

*  See  p.  98. 


32  The  Family 

Difference  in  pubcrtv,   for  examplc,  may  be  decided  by  relatives, 

ceremonial  accord-  ,  r       i  i   i  i  1  tt  f        1 

ing  to  sex  by  the  father,   older  brother,   etc.      because    ot    the 

usually  larger  group  tradition  to  which  the  boy  is 
initiated  his  initiation  ceremonial  is  almost  always 
more  elaborate  than  the  girl's.  Sometimes  there  is 
no  initiation  ceremonial  for  girls  at  all, 

Age-cia.scs  Social  distinctions  between  children  under  puberty, 

youths  and  maidens  over  puberty,  but  unmarried,  and 
married  men  and  women  are  frequently  so  marked 
that  initiation  and  marriage,  or,  rather,  child-bearing,^ 
serve  as  dividing  lines  of  three  more  or  less  sharply 
differentiated  age-classes. 

Prolongation  of  It  is  important  to  note  in  general,  as  well  as  in  the 

in'ethnTsocTety  particular  cases  of  residence  referred  to  above,  that 
parental  care  during  immaturity  and  dependence  upon, 
or  subjection  to,  parents  are  not  always  correlative.^ 
In  ethnic  society,  i.e.,  groups  whose  fundamental  so- 
cial tie  is  the  possession  of  common  blood,  dependence 
on  parents  and  other  relatives  is  not  limited  to  the 
period  of  immaturity  ;  it  tends  to  be  lifelong.  Again, 
filial  subjection  may  also  be  lifelong  when  parents 
occupy  the  position  of  governors  of  kinship  groups. 
In  any  attempt  to  follow  out  the  stages  of  parental 
care  among  mankind  it  is  very  important  to  bear  dis- 
tinctions between  kinship  and  parental  or  filial  obli- 
gations clearly  in  mind.  We  shall  find  that  the 
former  tend  in  social  progress  to  lessen  and  the  latter 

'  Freedom  of  sexual  intercourse  is  frequently  allowed  the  unmarried  youth 
and  maiden.  It  is  the  birth  of  a  child,  therefore,  that  marks  the  woman's 
entrance  into  the  third  age-class.  Men  enter  it,  as  a  rule,  much  later  than 
women. 

'  The  distinction  is  striking  in  Roman  law.  A  son  delivered  from  patria 
■^otestas  by  the  death  of  his  father  or  grandfather  remained  under  guardianship 
only  until  his  fifteenth  year,  otherwise  \.hc  patria  potestas  was  lifelong. 


The  Duration  of  Parental  Care  33 

to  increase.  Unfortunately  ethnographers  too  com- 
monly fail  to  make  the  distinction. 

As  far  as  we    can   judge  from   our  scant   ethno-  Parental  care  and 
graphical  data  and  from  a  few  careful  studies^  of  the  births  andchiid- 

1  1^  11  f       •     M  •     J.'  J*       •  deaths  per  family 

economic  and  cultural  classes  ot  civil  societies,  dimin-  among  mankind 
utions  in  the  number  of  births  and  child-deaths  per 
family  accompany  advances  in  parental  care  from 
society  to  society  or  from  class  to  class  in  the  same 
society.  No  attempt  has  as  yet  been  made  to  ana- 
lyse this  fact  from  a  physiological  point  of  view,  and 
social  factors  so  complicate  the  subject  of  the  natural 
fertility  of  mankind  that  such  an  attempt  would  be 
very  difficult.     It  is  to  be  hoped  that  in  time,  how-  Need  of  study  of 

1  .  ,1  r    ^1  1     ^'  1       ^  relations  between 

ever,  a  comprehensive  study  ot  the  relations  between  fertility,  child- 
birth and  child-death  rates  and  parental  care  among  '"°'-taiity.  and 

i  o     parental  care 

mankind  will  be  made.  In  the  next  lecture  we  shall 
consider  some  of  the  social  facts  which  affect  the 
number  of  births  and  child-deaths  per  family. 

NOTE  A. 

Customs  of  Child-Feeding. 

Ploss,  Das  Kind  in  Branch  und  Sitte  der  Volker,  Leipzig 
1884,  ii.,  141-192. 

Lessons  in  Infant  and  Child-Feeding. 

Holt,  The  Care  and  Feeding  of  Children^  New  York  and 
London,  1903,  pp.  35-115. 
Initiation  Ceremonial. 

Schurtz,  A iiersh/assen  iind  Md?inerbunde,'Bex\\x\,  1902,  pp. 
95-110. 

Garcilasso    de   la  Vega,  The   Royal  Commentaries  of  the 
Yncas,  Pub,  of  the  Hakluyt  Society,  London,  187 1,  ii.,  167-180. 

Crawley,  The  Mystic  Rose,  pp.  294-314. 

Ploss,  Das  Kind,  etc.  ii.,  41 1-45 1. 

'  See  Note  A,  p.  34. 


34  The  Family 

Totem  Practices  at  Initiation. 

Frazer,  Totemism,  Edinburgh,  1887,  pp.  38-43. 

Initiation    Ceremonial,   Ephebic  Education,  and  Church 
Confirmation. 

Hall,  Adolescence,  New  York,  1904,  chap.  xiii. 
Age  Classes. 

Schurtz,  Altersklassen,  etc.,  pp.  125-173. 
Natality  and  Child-Mortality  among  Different  Economic 
Classes  in  the  Netherlands. 

Verrijn,  Untersuchungen  iiber  die  Beziehung  zwischen 
Wohlstand,  Natalitdt  und  Kindersterhlichkeit  in  den  Nieder- 
Idnden  in  Zt.  f.  Socialiv.,  x.  (1901),  49-62. 

In  London. 

Booth,  Life  and  Labour  in  London,  London  and    New 
York,  1903,  X.,  16-26. 
Among   College-   and    Non-College-Bred   Women   in   the 
United  States. 

Smith,  Statistics  of  College  and  Non-College  Women  in  Pub- 
lications of  the  American  Statistical  Association,  vii.  (1900- 
1901),  1-26. 
Death-Rate  among  Poor  Children  of  York. 

Rowntree,  Poverty,  a  Study  of  Town  Life,  l^on^on,  1901, 
pp.  205-207. 

NOTE  B. 

The  Relation  between  Sociality  and  the  Family. 

Social  sympathy  takes  its  rise  in  the  family.  Sutherland, 
The  Origin  and  Growth  of  the  Moral  Instinct,  i.,  353-354- 

Sociability  is  a  product  of  non-familial  relations,  Schurtz, 
Altersklassen  und  Manner bUnde,  pp.  18-21, 

Social  life  the  cause,  not  the  effect,  as  Fiske  sug- 
gests, of  the  prolongation  of  infancy.  Giddings,  Princi- 
ples of  Sociology,  New  York  and  London,  1896,  p.  229. 

No  relation  between  education  (adaptation  to  social 
environment)  and  family  structure.  Barth,  Die  Geschichte 
der  Erziehung  in  soziologischer  Beleuchtung  in  Vierteljahrssch- 
riftfur  wissenschaftliche  Philosophic  u.  Soziologie^  Sec.  Series, 
ii-  (1903),  PP-  57-80,  209-229. 


The  Duration  of  Parental  Care  35 

NOTE  C. 

Study  from  ethnographical  data  the  number  of  births  and  child- 
deaths  (including  artificial  abortions)  per  family  in  relation  to 
parental  care.  [Follow  here  and  elsewhere  whenever  possible  the 
comparative  method  suggested  by  Tylor  in  his  On  a  Method  of 
Investigating  the  Development  of  Institutions,  etc.,  in  J.  A.  /.,  xviii., 
pp.  256  ff.,  and  used  by  Steinmetz  {Ethnologische  Studien  zur 
ersten  Entwickelung  der  Strafe)  and  Niebohr  {Slavery  as  an 
Industrial  System)?^  Study  lactation  habits  from  the  point  of 
view  of  education  (regularity,  control,  etc.).  Study  the  relation 
between  father  and  son  in  the  military  and  ecclesiastical  classes 
of  groups  (i)  where  military  and  ecclesiastical  functions  are  not 
hereditary,  (2)  where  they  are  hereditary.  Make  a  comparative 
study  of  initiation  ceremonial  (i)  noting  the  traits  required  of 
candidates,  (2)  the  parts  played  by  parents  and  near  kindred. 
Describe  the  "  coming  out  party "  as  an  initiation  ceremony. 
Make  a  comparative  study  of  the  difference  in  age  of  males  and 
females  upon  their  respective  entrance  into  age-classes.  Collect 
data  in  addition  to  foregoing  bearing  upon  query :  Is  man's 
infancy  longer  than  woman's  ? 

NOTE  D.* 

Veddahs: 

Children  live  with  parents  until  marriage,  p.  471.  Youths 
marry  usually  at  13  or  14,  girls  at  11  or  12.  They  are 
mothers  at  14.  p.  469. 

Offspring  even  when  grown  seem  attached  to  parents,  p.  469. 
Yahgan. 

Period  of  lactation  generally  3  years,  but  solid  food — cooked 
muscles,  fish,  etc. — is  also  given  at  an  early  period  to  nurslings, 
vii.,  195.  Two  children,  born  one  after  the  other,  are  often 
nursed  at  same  time,     vii.,  171. 

Children  do  not  always  live  with  parents..  They  may  be 
carried  off  by  a  friend  and  live  away  from  parents  for  weeks,  vii., 
171.    Ordinarily,  all  the  children  live  together  in  a  little  hut  which 

'  The  full  titles  of  the  authorities  from  which  the  citations  in  this  note  and 
in  the  analogous  notes  at  the  end  of  each  lecture  are  taken  are  to  be  found  in 
the  list  of  authorities  on  pp.  1-4.  References  are  to  the  authorities  that  are 
starred. 


36  The  Family 

they  build,  but  their  parents  furnish  them  provisions;  and 
when  a  band  of  natives  come  together  from  different  parts,  chil- 
dren live  altogether  with  parents  for  protection,  vii.,  171. 

Parents  generally  care  for  children  until  latter  marry,  x.,  331. 
Before  she  is  definitely  given  to  her  future  husband,  a  girl  will 
go  from  time  to  time  to  visit  him,  returning  to  her  parents  ;  but 
as  soon  as  she  reaches  nubility  her  lot  is  settled,  for  fathers  think 
it  dishonourable  to  keep  daughters  after  this  period,  vii.,  171. 
Nubility  takes  place  at  14  or  15.  vii.  187.  Girls  marry  at  13. 
H.  &  D.,  vii.,   377. 

Formerly  an  initiation  of  boys  at  the  age  of  adolescence,  13  or 
14,  customary.  They  were  taken  into  a  large  hut,  and  pledged 
to  secrecy,  forced  to  fast  to  emaciation,  to  undertake  laborious 
task  of  keeping  up  fire  in  large  hearth  in  hut.  Meanwhile 
relatives  admonished  them  to  behave  well.  Singing,  dancing, 
and  masking  took  place.  After  initiation  youth  had  the  right  to 
marry.  Women  and  children  not  admitted  to  hut.  H.  &  D.,  vii., 
377.  Initiation  of  boys  repeated  several  years  and  then  they 
have  a  right  to  marry,  vii,  175.  Girls  fast  at  puberty  and  are 
admonished  by  parents.  H.  &:  D.,  vii.,  377. 
Central  Australians: 

Suckling  often  continued  up  to  age  of  3  years  or  even  older, 
p.  264. 

Marriageable  age  is  usually  about  14  or  15.  p.  92. 

First  initiation  ceremony  takes  place  when  a  boy  is  between 
ioandi2.  p.  214.  His  elder  male  relatives  (usually  elder  brothers) 
decide  when  he  has  arrived  at  proper  age  for  circumcision, 
p.  218.  While  boys  are  being  painted  in  first  of  initiatory  cere- 
monies they  are  told  that  ceremony  will  promote  their  growth  to 
manhood,  and  they  are  also  told  by  tribal  fathers  and  elder 
brothers  that  in  future  they  must  not  play  with  women  and  girls, 
nor  must  they  camp  with  them  as  they  have  hitherto  done,  but 
henceforth  they  must  go  to  the  camp  of  the  men.  Up  to  this 
time  they  have  been  accustomed  to  go  out  with  the  women  as 
they  searched  for  vegetable  food  and  smaller  animals  such 
as  lizards  and  rats  ;  now  they  begin  to  accompany  the  men  in 
their  search  for  larger  game,  and  begin  also  to  look  forward  to 
the  time  when  they  will  become  fully  initiated  into  all  the 
secrets  of  the  tribe,    pp.   215-17.  The  throwing  of  the  boomerang 


The  Duration  of  Parental  Care  37 

in  the  direction  of  the  mother's  Alcheringa  camp  during  the 
initiation  ceremony  may  in  all  likelihood  be  regarded  as  intended 
to  symbolize  the  idea  that  the  young  man  is  entering  upon  man- 
hood and  thus,  is  passing  out  of  the  control  of  his  mother  and 
into  the  ranks  of  the  men.  p.  259.  During  initiation  ceremony 
boy's  Mura  iualcha,  the  woman  whose  eldest  daughter,  born  or 
unborn,  has  been  assigned  to  him  as  his  future  wife,  hands  him 
the  fire-stick,  telling  him  to  always  hold  fast  to  his  own  fire,  in 
other  words  not  to  interfere  with  women  assigned  to  other  men. 
p.  222. 

If  two  men  are  fighting,  mother  and  sister  of  each  will  cluster 
around  him,  attempting  to  shelter  him  from  the  blows  of  his  adver- 
sary's boomerang  or  fighting  club,  frequently  receiving  the  blows 
meant  for  him.     p.  32. 
Point  Barrow  Eskimo: 

Children  nursed  until  3  or  4  years  old.  Probably  due  to  fact 
that  animal  food  on  which  parents  subsist  is  not  fit  for  young 
children,  p.  415. 

Child  carried  naked  on  mother's  back  under  her  clothes  until 
able  to  walk  and  often  later,  pp.  415-416.  Boys  of  6  or  7  begin 
to  shoot  small  birds  and  animals  and  hunt  for  birds'  eggs,  and 
when  12  or  14  usually  entrusted  with  a  gun  and  seal  spear  and 
accompany  fathers  to  the  hunt.  One  boy  not  over  13  had  a  seal 
net  set  like  the  men's  and  used  to  visit  it  regularly  even  in  the 
roughest  weather.  Lads  of  14  or  15  are  sometimes  regular 
members  of  the  whaling  crews,  p.  417.  There  were  a  number 
of  boys  who  were  excellent  seal  hunters  and  even  able  to  manage 
a  kaiak,  but  their  lips  were  not  pierced  until  14  or  15,  when  they 
may  be  supposed  to  have  reached  manhood,  p.  144.  Little 
girls  learn  to  sew  and  by  the  time  they  are  12  they  take  their 
share  of  the  cooking  and  other  household  work  and  assist  in 
making  clothes  for  family,    p.  417. 

First  time  a  child   is  taken   into   a  Kashim    in  village  of  its 
parents  latter  present  a  gift  to  each  person  present,     p.  286, 
Behring  Strait  Eskimo: 

In  child  marriages  husband  enjoys  the  rights  of  other  heads  of 
families  one  month  after  wife  reaches  puber'r-.  p.  292.  Should 
a  considerable  time  pass  after  a  girl  reaches  puberty  and  no 
suitor  appear,  the  father  accumulates  a  large  amount  of  food  and 


38  The  Family 

makes  a  festival  to  announce  that  his  daughter  is  ready  for  mar. 
riage.  p.  291. 
Central  Eskimo: 

Children  weaned  when  about  2.  During  this  time  frequently 
fed  from  mothers'  mouths,    p.  556. 

Young  children  always  carried  in  mothers'  hoods,  but  when 
about  a  year  and  a  half  old  allowed  to  play  on  the  bed  and  car- 
ried by  mothers  when  they  get  too  mischievous,  pp.  565-566. 
Children  when  about  12  begin  to  help  parents,  girls  sewing  and 
preparing  skins,  boys  accompanying  fathers  on  hunting  expe- 
ditions,  p.   556. 

As  soon  as  a  boy  is  able  to  provide  for  a  family  and  a  girl  can 
do  the  work  falling  to  her  share  they  are  allowed  to  marry,    pp. 
578-579- 
Melanesians: 

Children  commonly  suckled  until  they  can  crawl,  p.  231. 

New  Hebrides  :  Membership  in  the  powerful  secret  society  is 
a  matter  of  payment,  A  father  will  purchase  it  for  son.  pp. 
87,  114,  115.  Banks'  Isls. :  A  boy  without  property  will  be  sup- 
plied by  father  or  some  friend  with  what  is  necessary  for  engaging 
patronage  of  his  uncle,  upon  whom  the  expense  of  his  initiation 
into  the  secret  society,  Suqe,  falls,  p,  106. 

Boys  sleep  and  eat  in  a  public  hall  or  in  club-house  of  secret 
society.  Saa:  A  chief's  son  may  go  to  eat  at  club-house,  subse- 
quently to  sleep  there,  at  12,  commoners' sons  go  later,    pp.  231- 

Ewe-Speaking  Peoples: 

Children  suckled  ordinarily  2  or  3  years,    p.  206. 

Boys  remain   under  care  of  mother  until  old  enough  to  be  of 
service  to  father,  when    they  leave  maternal   roof  and   live  in 
father's  house.    Girls  remain  with  mother  until  married,    p.  204. 
Tshi-Speaking  Peoples.         See  Note  D,   p. 
Yoruba-Speaking  Peoples: 

Suckling  lasts  usually  3  years,  p.  185. 

At  death  of  father  daughter  laments:  "  Alas!  my  father  is 
dead.    Who  will  take  care  of  me  ?  "     p.  158. 

Thompson  River  Indians: 

Little  care  taken  of  children  during  a  certain  age.   From  theik 


The  Duration  of  Parental  Care  39 

birth  until  able  to  walk  generally  wrapped  up,  and  even  taken 
too  much  care  of  ;  but  as  soon  as  they  can  walk,  and  from  that 
time  up  to  lo  often  allowed  to  run  around  exposed  to  weather, 
with  little  or  no  clothing  other  than  a  cotton  shirt.  It  is  during 
this  period  of  life  that  most  children  die.  pp.  177-178. 

Girls  considered  marriageable  only  after  puberty  ceremonies, 
approximately  in  17th  or  i8th  year.  Sometimes  ceremonies 
continued  until  23d  year.  p.  321.  Most  of  the  men  married 
from  3  to  7  years  after  puberty  ceremonial,  /.  <?.,  between  22  and 
25.     p.  321. 

Adolescent  boys  commenced  regular  training  when  they 
dreamed  for  first  time  of  an  arrow,  a  canoe,  or  a  woman,  generally 
between  12  and  16.  p.  318.  Ordinarily  boys  went  to  lonely 
parts  of  mountains,  remaining  from  2  to  10  days  at  a  time.  If 
weather  were  good,  they  generally  stayed  away  a  month  or  two 
at  a  time,  living  on  what  game  they  shot.  Sometimes  they  fasted 
many  days.  In  the  sweat  lodge  they  prayed  to  be  made  physic- 
ally strong,  agile,  wise,  brave,  lucky,  wealthy,  good  hunters,  trap- 
pers, fishermen,  etc.  Also  that  they  might  never  be  bewitched, 
sick,  poor,  lazy,  easily  tired,  etc.  They  jumped  over  sticks  or 
bars,  ran  up  and  down  hills  as  swiftly  as  possible  without  stop- 
ping. They  practised  shooting  at  marks.  They  made  round 
holes  in  rocks  with  a  jadeite  adze,  working  every  night  until 
holes  were  two  or  three  inches  deep.  This  was  believed  to  make 
the  arm  tireless  and  the  hand  dexterous  in  making  stone  imple- 
ments of  any  kind.  pp.  318-320.  Puberty  ceremonies  which 
boys  had  to  perform  depended  upon  their  aspirations.  Those 
who  desired  to  become  great  hunters  had  to  practise  hunting 
and  shooting  in  a  ceremonial  way.  Those  who  desired  to  be 
warriors  performed  mimic  battles.  The  would-be  gambler 
danced  and  played  with  gambling  sticks.  If  a  boy  wanted  to 
develop  into  an  extraordinary  man,  ceremonial  extended  over 
years,  which  he  spent  alone  with  his  guardian  spirit  in  the  mount- 
ains, fasting,  sweating,  and  praying,  pp.  317-318.  Lads  who 
had  shown  themselves  skilful  in  hunting  were  called  "  grown " 
in  the  sense  that  they  had  attained  manhood;  whereas  others, 
although  adults,  not  called  '*  grown  up  "  unless  they  had  so  dis- 
tinguished themselves  in  hunting  or  war.  p.  295.  During  puberty 
ceremonial  a  girl  had  to  run  as  fast  as  she  could,  pray  at  the  same 


40  The  Family 

time  to  the  Earth  or  Nature  that  she  might  be  fleet  of  foot  and 
tireless  of  limb.  She  split  small  fir  trees  in  two  from  top  to  bot- 
tom, that  she  might  be  strong  of  muscle  and  body.  She  dug 
trenches,  that  she  might  be  capable  of  doing  a  large  amount  of 
digging  and  other  hard  work.  She  also  wiped  her  eyes  and  her 
face  with  small  fir  branches,  that  she  might  be  good  looking,  pp. 
312-313.  She  stroked  her  back  and  head  with  a  hemlock  branch, 
praying  that  those  members  might  never  get  tired  when  carrying 
heavy  burdens.  She  stroked  her  legs  and  feet,  that  they  might 
never  get  tired  when  travelling  long  distances.  She  prayed  that 
she  might  never  be  lazy,  but  always  quick  and  active  at  work. 
She  had  to  make  miniatures  of  every  article  which  women  were 
in  the  habit  of  making,  that  in  after  years  she  might  be  capable 
of  making  those  articles  properly — baskets  of  roots  and  birch 
bark,  mats  of  different  kinds,  rope,  thread,  etc.    p.  315. 

Kabyles: 

Imechaddalen.  Tax  on  birth  of  a  son  3  reals.  Father  also 
gives  a  feast  to  the  village  7  days  after  birth,  iii.,  417.  Izer- 
faonen  Likewise  when  he  circumcises  his  son.  When  a  child 
begins  to  fast  (at  majority)  father  gives  a  dish  of  concous  to  the 
mosque  for  the  people,  iii.,  410.  Cheurfa.  If  a  father  fail  to 
have  his  son  taught  to  read  after  one  year  has  elapsed  from 
cutting  of  his  second  teeth,  fined  i  real,     iii.,  330-331. 

A  father  may  marry  off  his  daughter  before  she  has  reached 
age  of  puberty,     ii.,  149. 

A  married  woman  may  choose  her  father  or  another  relative  as 
guardian  of  her  interests.  Has  right  to  visit  her  relatives  when 
they  invite  her  to  attend  important  events  in  family.  Her  father 
has  always  the  right  to  take  her  home,     ii.,  168-169. 

Ancient  Arahs: 

Mothers  must  suckle  their  children  two  whole  years  for  one 
who  wishes  to  complete  the  time  of  suckling;  and  on  him  to 
whom  it  is  born  its  sustenance  and  clothing  are  incumbent;  but 
in  reason,  for  no  soul  shall  be  obliged  to  go  beyond  its  capacity. 
But  if  both  parties  wish  to  wean,  by  mutual  consent  and  counsel, 
then  it  is  no  crime  in  them.  And  if  ye  wish  to  provide  a  wet- 
nurse  for  your  children,  it  is  no  crime  in  you  when  you  pay  what 
you  have  promised  her,  in  reason,     ii.,  233. 


The  Duration  of  Parental  Care  41 

Ancient  Hebrews 

If  the  priest's  daughter  be  a  widow,  or  divorced,  and  have  no 
child,  and  is  returned  unto  her  father's  house,  as  in  her  youth, 
she  shall  eat  of  her  father's  meat;  but  there  shall  no  stranger 
eat  thereof.  Lev.  xxii.,  13.  A  man  wa-s  numbered  at  20  years  of 
age.     Ex.  XXX.,  14. 

Babylonians: 

If  a  man  give  his  son  to  a  nurse  and  that  son  die  in  the  hands 
of  the  nurse,  and  the  nurse  substitute  another  son  without  the  con- 
sent of  his  father  or  mother,  they  shall  call  her  to  account,  and 
because  she  has  substituted  another  son  without  the  consent  of 
his  father  or  mother,  they  shall  cut  off  her  breast.     §  194. 

Ancient  Hindus: 

The  initiation  should  be  performed  for  a  Brahmana  from  5th 
year  after  conception  until  completion  of  i6th  year;  for  a  Ksha- 
triya,  in  nth  year  to  completion  of  22d  year;  for  a  Vaisya,  in 
1 2th  year  to  completion  of  24th  year.  If  these  periods  pass 
without  initiation  men  become  despicable  outcasts,     ii.,  36-40. 

Ancient  Chinese: 

The  tortoise  shell  was  employed  to  determine  the  wife 
of  an  officer  or  the  concubine  of  a  great  officer  who  should 
be  the  nurse  of  a  ruler's  son.  xxvii.,  472.  This  nurse  quitted 
palace  at  end  of  3  years.  Son  of  a  great  officer  has  also  a  nurse. 
Wife  of  an  ordinary  officer  nourished  her  child  herself, 
xxvii.,  476. 

Confucius  said:  "A  son,  three  years  after  his  birth,  ceases  to 
be  carried  in  the  arms  of  his  parents."  xxviii.,  394.  To  a 
question  about  the  son  of  a  common  man,  the  reply,  if  he  be 
grown  up,  should  be,  "  He  is  able  to  carry  a  bundle  of  firewood." 
xxvii.,  115. 

At  20  he  was  capped  and  first  learned  the  different  classes  of 
ceremonies  .  .  .  and  attended  sedulously  to  filial  and  fra- 
ternal duties.  .  .  .  At  30  he  had  a  wife,  and  began  to 
attend  to  the  business  proper  to  a  man.  ...  At  7  boys  and 
girls  did  not  occupy  the  same  mat  nor  eat  together.  A  girl  at 
10  ceased  to  go  out  from  the  women's  apartments.  At  15  she 
assumed  the  hairpin;  at  20  she  was  married,  or,  if  there  were 
occasion  for  the  delay,  at  23.     xxvii.,  477. 


42  The  Family 

Ancient  Romans: 

Ascendants  may  appoint  tutors  by  testament  to  those  children 
who  are  in  their  power,  though  if  males,  only  whilst  under  the  age 
of  puberty,  but  females  may  be  above  the  age  of  puberty,  for  the 
ancients  wished  that  women,  even  of  full  age,  should,  on  account 
of  their  weakness  of  intellect,  be  kept  in  guardianship.  G.  i.,  §144. 
According  to  Justinian,  daughters  as  well  as  sons  have  tutors 
appointed  to  them  only  under  the  age  of  puberty,  'y.  i.,  xiii,  §3. 
Between  puberty  and  25  curators  are  appointed  for  both  males 
and  females,  for  "they  are  still  of  an  age  which  makes  them 
unfit  to  look  after  their  own  affairs."  jf^.  i.,  xxiii.  For  cutting 
or  pasturing  off  crops  at  night,  death;  but  if  the  offender  be 
under  the  age  of  puberty  scourging  by  order  of  the  magistrate 
and  liability  for  double  the  amount  of  damage.  Table  VIII. 
Similarly  for  theft,  ib.  In  theft  a  person  under  the  age  of 
puberty  can  only  be  liable  if  he  is  approaching  the  age  of 
puberty,  and,  consequently  understands  that  he  is  doing  wrong. 
J.  iv.,  /,  §18. 

Marriage   is  lawful  when    the   male   has   reached  the  age  of 
puberty  and  the  female  the  age  when  she  is  fit  to  be  married  (12). 
^.  i.,  X.,  xii. 
French: 

338.  A  minor  is  an  individual  of  either  sex  who  has  not 
yet  reached  full  age  of  21,  476.  A  minor  is  emancipated  by 
right  of  his  marriage.  477.  A  minor  even  unmarried  can  be 
emancipated  by  his  father,  or,  in  default  of  his  father,  by  his 
mother  when  he  has  reached  the  full  age  of  15. 

144.  A  male  under  18  and  a  female  under  15  cannot  contract 
marriage.     145.     Nevertheless  the  King  (the  President   of  the 
Republic)  may  grant  dispensations  on  account  of  age  for  serious 
causes. 
People  of  United  States: 

Statute  43  Eliz.  and  statutes  based  upon  it  alone  govern  in 
regard  to  parental  maintenance.  §  237.  Endangering  a  child's 
life  from  want  of  food  or  medical  treatment  an  indictable 
offence.     §  244  N.  6. 

Age  at  majority,  21;  for  females,  in  some  States,  18.  §391. 
The  prevailing  policy  is  to  exclude  the  testamentary  capacity  of 
all  infants.     §  397. 


The  Duration  of  Parental  Care  43 

A  child  under  7  is  legally  incapable  of  crime,  one  between  7 
and  14  orAy  prima  facie  so,  and  one  over  14  prima  facie  capable 
like  any  other  person.     §  395. 

Marriage  may  be  contracted  at  7  and  may  be  affirmed  or 
avoided  at  the  age  of  consent,  from  14  to  21  for  males,  from  12 
to  18  for  females.     §  20  N.  i. 

A  father  is  not  only  absolved  from  liability  for  sheltering  his 
daughter  who  has  fled  from  a  drunken  and  profligate  husband, 
but  he  is  even  encouraged  to  do  so.     §41. 


LECTURE   III 


SOCIAL    FACTORS     IN    BIRTH     AND   CHILD    DEATH    RATES 


Artificial  and  direct 
checks  upon  human 
fertility 


Their  time  relations 
to  one  another 


Psychological 
distinctions   . 


Causes  of 
infanticide 


THROUGH  infanticide,  artificial  abortion  or  foeti- 
cide, and  the  prevention  of  conception  natural  fer- 
tility is  artificially  and  directly  checked.  These  checks 
exist  synchronously  in  a  society  in  the  same  or,  more 
commonly,  in  different  culture  classes,  or  one  may,  in 
course  of  development  in  general  in  the  society,  be 
substituted  for  another.  There  are  less  forethought 
and  parental  sympathy  in  infanticide  than  in  foeticide 
and  in  foeticide  than  in  the  prevention  of  conception. 
In  all  cases  of  comparison,  however,  the  particular 
motives  and  methods  of  the  general  practice  must  be 
considered.  ^,  The  prevention  or  attempted  prevention 
of  conception,  through  magic  or  mechanical  means,  to 
avoid  the  burden  of  an  additional  child  corresponds, 
for  example,  to  quite  a  different  cultural  stage  than 
prevention  through  self-restraint  for  the  sake  of  caring 
more  adequately  for  existing  offspring  and  of  becom- 
ing more  fit  for  child-bearing  at  a  later  period.  Nat- 
ural or  non-social  conditions  makingr  for  a  hicfh  infant 
death-rate  are  also  to  be  noted  in  this  connection  as 
precluding  ideas  of  the  necessity  for  infanticide. 

Among  the  chief  causes  of  infanticide  are  the 
inability  of  the  mother,  either  through  death  or  the 
existence  of  an  older  child,  to  suckle  or  carry  the  new- 
comer, the  death  of  the  father,  or  desertion  by  him  of 
his  family,  poverty  in  general,  maternal  indolence,  the 

44 


Social  Factors  in  Birth  &  Child  Death  Rates  45 

rule  of  sexual  abstinence  during  lactation,  fear  of  the 
unusual,  prejudice  against  illegitimacy. 

Infanticide  of  the  surviving  infant  of  a  mother  dy-  Death  of  mother 
ing  in  child-birth  or  while  the  child  is  at  the  breast  is 
a  common  practice.     In  this  case  it  is  sometimes  be- 
lieved that    the  spirit  of  the    mother  demands   the 
company  of  her  child.     Where  infants  are  absolutely  Newcomer  inter- 
dependent upon  their  mothers'  milk  and  where  the  oMer'^S^d""*'^ 
period  of  lactation  is  long,  it  frequently  happens  that 
a  child  is  born   before   an  older  child   is  or  can  be 
weaned.     If  the  mother  can  not    nourish   both,  the 
younger  is  killed.     Akin  to  this  motive  is  the  killing 
of  a  younger  child  in  the  belief  that  his  vitality  will 
pass  into  the  body  of  an  older  and  ailing  child.    Lack  Kiinngofoneof 
of  adequate  nourishment  is  probably  one  of  the  reasons 
at  times  for  the  widespread  practice  of  killing  one  of 
twins.     Where  among-  mitjratory  peoples  the  wife  and  infanticide  due  to 

<j  <~>  J    1.  L  ^        migratory  nature 

mother  is  the    chief  carrier  of    the   household,   it  is  ofgroup 

plain  that  she  can  not  carry  two  children  in  addition 

to  household  goods.     And  here  again  is  a  motive  for 

doine  away  with   the  vounofer  burden.     The  death  Death  of,  or  deser- 

=*  1  f     1   •        f  -1  •       tion  by,  father 

of  the  father,   or  desertion  by  him   of  his  family,  is 
also  a  motive  for  infanticide  by  the  mother.      Where 
child-labour  is  useful  among  herders  and  tillers  of  the 
soil,  for  example,  or  in  industrial  groups  where  child- 
labour  is  unrestricted,  or  in  the  case  of  daughters  where 
marriage  by   purchase   is  customary,  children  are  de- 
sirable as  a  form  of  present  or  future  wealth.      Under  ,^/,;^„°^;,';°j;°"''' 
other  circumstances  they  may  burden  their  parents  offspring 
without  bringing  them  any  economic  return.      Infanti- 
cide is  an  expression  of  the  irksomeness  of  this  condi- 
tion.    The  unwillingness  of  mothers  to  nurse  their  Maternal  indolence 
children  we  have  already  referred  to.     This  attitude, 


Jealousy 


Intolerance  of  the 

unusual 


46  The  Family 

whether  it  be  due  to  mere  indolence  (in  which  case 
it  is  coupled  to  unwillingness  to  care  for  the  child 
after  it  is  weaned  as  well),  or  to  the  fact  that  the 
lactation  period  is  usually  the  time  when,  under  poly- 
gyny, the  plural  wife  is  taken,^  also  leads  to  infanticide 
where  the  mother  is  the  sole  provider  for  the  infant. 
Undeveloped  persons  and  groups  are,  as  a  rule, 
extremely  into  lerant  of  individual  variations.^  This 
attitude  expresses  itself  in  the  superstitions  usually  at- 
taching to  the  unusual  or  unexpected  ;  the  abnormal  is 
accounted  good-  or  bad-luck-bringing,  more  frequently 
bad-luck-brinofinof.  Irreo^ularities  in  the  birth  or 
growth  of  children,  such  as  premature  birth,  multiple 
births,^  abnormal  delivery,  irregularity  in  the  order  of 
dentition,  bodily  defects  or  disease  (here  economic  mo- 
tives may  attach, too), etc.,  are  all  ill  omens  to  be  averted 
only  by  the  killing  of  the  offspring  characterised  by 
Arbitrary  notions  of  such  irregularities.  Purely  arbitrary  notions  of  bad 
^"'^"'"'"'  luck  attaching,  for  example,  to  certain  times  of  birth 

or  to  certain  positions  in  the  order  of  births  in  a  family 
Illegitimacy  ^Iso  lead  to  infauticide.     The  offspring  of  condemned 

or  forbidden  forms  of  sexual  intercourse  are  frequently 
killed,  either  as  a  means  of  concealing  the  offence  and 
so  avoiding  disgrace  or  punishment,  or  because  their 
death  is  directly  required  by  the  group.  The  killing 
Infanticide  of  twins  ^f  twins  is  soiTietimes  due  to  the  idea  that  they  are  the 
outcome  of  adultery.  It  is  sometimes  customary  to 
Of  the  first  kill  the  first  child  or  children  that  are  born  before  the 

offspring  mother  has  reached  a  stated  age  or  has  been  married 

a  stated  time.     This  practice  is  sometimes  due  to  the 

'  Cp.  p.  104. 

*  Even  when  infanticide  is  not  practised  in  the  case  of  twins,  their  treatment 
is,  as  a  rule,  somewhat  different  from  that  of  other  children,  their  coming  being 
considered  either  unfortunate  or  auspicious. 


Social  Factors  in  Birth  &  Child  Death  Rates  47 

belief  that  the  children  of  very  young  mothers  are 

weakly.     On  the  other  hand,  all  children  born  after  ofsubsequent 

...      .  offspring 

the  birth  of  a  second,  third,  etc.,  child  may  be  killed. 

Female  infanticide  is  sometimes  the  only  practice  Female  infanticide 
of  infanticide  in  vogue.     This  may  occur  when  the  causes 
potential    economic   value   of   females  is   much  less 
than  that  of  males.     Where  marriage  by  capture  is 
common,  the  possession  of  girls  may  also  be  a  source 
of  group  weakness,  inducing  attacks  by  other  groups. 

Burial    alive,  a   blow,    suffocation,    drowning,    are  Methods  of  infanti- 

"^  .  cide 

some  of  the  methods  of  child-killing.  Exposure  is  an 
interesting  modification  of  infanticide  proper,  as  it 
indicates  an  increase  of  parental  sympathy.^  The 
foundling  asylum  is  an  index  of  the  prevalence  of 
what  approximates  to  this  practice  in  modern  civil- 
isation. 

Almost  all  of  the  causes  of  infanticide  may  be  causes  of  femicide 
operative  in  the  practice  of  foeticide.  Indolence, 
personal  vanity  and  fear  of  disgrace  in  case  of  ille- 
gitimacy are,  however,  more  prominent  motives  in 
the  latter  than  in  the  former  practice.  Foeticide  may  special  motivei 
also  be  practised  because  of  sexual  abstinence  re- 
strictions during  pregnancy,  or  as  a  means  of  spiting 
a  disliked  husband.  Its  practice  as  a  means  of  sav- 
ing the  life  of  women  unable  to  live  through  preg- 
nancy is  due  to  modern  surgery  and  to  the  belief  that 
it  is  more  important  to  save  the  life  of  the  mother 
than  of  the  infant. 

The  practice  of  infanticide  or  of  foeticide  may  be  f^tnSeTnr 
optional  with  the  mother,  or  the  consent  of  the  father  f«ticide 

•  That  is,  in  the  attitude  of  the  group  in  general,  not  necessarily  in  individual 
cases.  The  same  distinction  should  be  borne  in  mind  in  the  comparison  we 
have  already  made  of  the  psychical  characteristics  presupposed  by  infanticide, 
foeticide  and  prevention  of  conception.    (See  p.  44) 


48 


The  Family 


Assimilated  to 
murder 


Condemnation  of 
foeticide  later  than 
that  of  infanticide 


Facts  indicative  of 
desirability  of  off- 
spring 


or  other  members  of  the  kinsfolk  group  may  be  re- 
quired. The  father  or,  in  the  case  of  illegitimacy,  the 
kinsfolk  may  also  insist  upon  the  deed.  Infanticide 
comes  very  gradually,  and  long  after  the  notion  of 
the  sanctity  of  human  life  in  general  has  been  estab- 
lished, to  be  assimilated  to  murder  and  to  be  punished 
by  fine,  imprisonment,  or  death.  In  this  connection 
it  should  be  noted  that,  even  in  communities  where  the 
practice  is  otherwise  unrestricted,  it  is  almost  always 
customary  to  kill  the  infant  during  the  first  few  minutes 
or  hours  of  life.  In  some  cases,  unless  it  is  killed  within 
a  specified  time  or  before  it  is  named  or  lifted  up,  i.  e., 
recognised  by  the  father,  it  must  be  allowed  to  live. 
Beliefs  and  practices  connected  with  unlucky  children 
may  in  some  cases  be  modifications  or  survivals  of  an 
original  practice  of  infanticide.  The  recognition  of 
foeticide  as,  in  all  cases  except  as  a  necessity  for  sav- 
ing the  mother's  life,^  an  unjustifiable  and  punishable 
act  is  naturally  a  still  later  view.  The  belief  that  the 
foetus  is  not  alive  until  a  certain  period  of  pregnancy 
is  reached  frequently  prevents  the  practice  of  abor- 
tion prior  to  this  period  from  being  condemned. 

It  is  important  to  note,  in  connection  with  a  study 
of  the  practices  we  have  been  considering,  as  well  as 
with  a  general  study  of  parenthood  and  of  marriage,^ 
all  facts  indicative  of  the  degree  of  desirability  of  off- 
spring. It  is  enough  at  present  to  mention  these  facts. 
We  shall  discuss  them  in  other  connections  later. 
These  facts  are  :  (i)  cost  of  bringing  up  offspring  ;  (2) 
the  existence  of  economic  returns  to  parents  through 
child-labour,  or  the  labour  of  adult  sons  or  daughters, 


'  According  to  the  Catholic  Church  even  this  is  not  a  justifying  circumstance. 
'See  p.  229. 


Social  Factors  in  Birth  &  Child  Death  Rates  49 

or  through  daughter  sale  in  marriage  or  prostitution; 
(3)  the  sale  or  pawning  of  offspring  ;  (4)  the  practice 
of  fertility  charms  or  rites  (often  only  for  the  birth 
of  male  offspring) ;  (5)  suspension  of  legal  marriage 
until  birth  of  offspring  ;  (6)divorce  for  barrenness  ;  (7) 
lineal  inheritance  of  rank,  property,  and  religion  ;  (8) 
practices  of  adoption;  (9)  celebrations  at  birth,  or  nam- 
ing ceremonial  of  child.  (There  is  frequently  a  marked 
difference  in  such  celebrations  according  to  the  sex  of 
the  child.  This  difference  usually  suggests  the  fact 
that  daughters  are  less  desirable  than  sons.)  (10) 
The  existence  of  state  rewards  or  privileges  for  mar- 
ried persons  or  for  prolific  parents,  or  of  state  penal- 
ties or  disqualifications  for  celibates  (indicating  that 
offspring  are  not  desired  by  potential  parents,  but 
that  their  value  to  the  group  is  recognised).  Moral 
or  religious  exhortations  on  early  marriage  or  unre- 
restricted  reproduction  are  also  to  be  considered  here. 
When  we  have  approximately  learned  from  a  study 
of  these  practices  land  conditions  the  degree  of  de- 
sirability of  offspring,  we  may  estimate  to  a  certain 
extent  the  tendency  to  purposively  check  natural 
fertility.  Such  knowledge  is  particularly  useful  in  a  conditions  under 
study  of  the  habitual  prevention  of  conception.  If  ;:evenu'o?of '""^ 
the  tendency  is  marked  and  if  infanticide  and  foeti-  ^on^ption  occurs 
cide  are  strongly  condemned  in  the  community,  we 
may  expect  to  find,  given  an  adequate  development 
of  physiological  knowledge,  forethought,  and  self- 
restraint,  the  prevention  of  conception  in  general  prac- 
tice. A  realisation  of  the  benefits  resulting  to  the  Advantages  con- 
mother,  to  existing  and  to  future  offspring,  from  the  through  temporary 
lapse  of  from  two  to  four  years  between  conceptions,  P'-evention  of 

^  ^  ■••  '    conception 

may  also  be   the  cause   of   temporarily  preventing 


50 


The  Family 


Additional  direct 

■ecial  checks 

on  births  per 

family 

Sexual  restraint 

during  lactation 


Prolonged  lac> 
tation 


Economic  hard- 
ship 


Indirect  social 
checks  on  birth- 
rate 


Economic  crises 


conception.  In  infanticide  and  fceticide  these  benefits 
were  only  partially  gained,  if  gained  at  all.  Fre- 
quently, as  we  have  seen,  existing  offspring  are  pro- 
tected through  infanticide  and  foeticide,  but  the 
mother  and  through  the  mother  future  offspring  are 
in  most  cases  injured.  (Infanticide,  in  so  far  as  it 
may  relieve  the  mother  of  the  strain  of  suckling  two 
children  at  the  same  time,  is  of  benefit  to  her.) 
Accurate  information  on  this  subject  in  general  is 
unfortunately  not  at  present  obtainable. 

There  are  additional  direct,  although  non-pur- 
posive, checks  on  the  number  of  births  per  family 
which  we  should  note.  The  custom  of  requiring 
sexual  restraint  during  the  period  of  lactation  is  a 
check  upon  the  birth-rate.  It  is  also  probable, 
although  the  evidence  on  this  point  is  somewhat  con- 
flicting, that  where  no  such  restriction  exists  nursing 
mothers  are  less  apt  to  conceive  during  the  lactation 
period  and  that  prolonged  periods  of  lactation  per- 
manently decrease  the  power  to  conceive.  Economic 
hardship  is  an  important  factor  in  this  connection. 
Women  upon  whom  heavy  home  or  field  labours  fall 
are  less  fertile  than  those  living  under  easier  economic 
conditions. 

Here  we  may  also  briefly  note  certain  social  factors 
indirectly  affecting  the  general  birth-rate^  by  post- 
poning the  age  of  marriage  or  limiting  the  number  of 
potential  parents. 

The  occurrence  of  unusual  economic  distress  is  a 


'  Hitherto  we  have  been  considering  only  data  useful  in  estimating  the 
number  of  births  and  child-deaths  per  family  or  married  woman.  In  statisti- 
cal terminology  this  is  called  a  refined  birth-rate.  The  facts  we  are  now  to  note 
are  useful  in  an  analysis  of  the  proportion  of  births  to  the  /^/a/ population  or 
in  a  consideration  of  the  crude  birth-rate.    • 


Social  Factors  in  Birth  &  Child  Death  Rates  5 1 

factor  in  postponing  marriage.  The  statistics  of 
marriage  during  and  after  so-called  economic  crises 
are  plain  on  this  point.  Postponement  of  the  age  of  Latemamago 
marriage  is,  perhaps,  in  curtailing  the  child-bearing 
period  and  in  confining  child-bearing  to  the  latter 
and  more  unfruitful  part  of  the  period,  the  most 
important  indirect  check  upon  the  birth-rate  in  civil 
isation.     The   fact   should  also  be   noted,   however,  veryeariy 

marriage 

that  very  early  marriage  (or  sexual  intercourse 
during  immaturity)  is  probably  unfavourable  to  a 
numerous  progeny.  Advancing  standards  of  living,  Rise  in  standards 
as  well  as  periods  of  hard  times,  tend  to  postpone  the 
age  of  marriage.  We  should  note,  however,  that 
the  first  factor  has  a  comparatively  permanent  and  the 
second,  as  a  rule,  a  transitory  effect.  By  the  so- 
called  law  of  compensation  the  birth-rate  rises  after  a 
period  of  economic  depression.  Another  form  of 
compensation  interesting  in  this  connection,  but  physi- 
ological, so  to  speak,  rather  than  social,  is  the  tend- 
ency for  the  death  of  a  child,  particularly  an  infant, 
to  bring  about  the  birth  of  another.  We  have  no 
exact  information  here,  however.  Other  indirect  other  checks 
social  checks  upon  the  birth-rate  are  unhygienic 
practices  or  ways  of  living  during  sexual  crises,  pros- 
titution, religious  celibacy,  standing  armies,  depopula- 
ting wars  and  epidemics,  lack  of  numerical  proportion 
between  the  sexes  due  to  economic  conditions, 
the  cost  of  obtaining  or  maintaining  a  wife,  the 
growth  in  general  of  desires  for  economic  independ- 
ence or  for  luxury  and  idleness  (factors  in  celibacy, 
late  marriage,  or  voluntary  childlessness),  etc. 


52  The  Family 

NOTE    A 

Infanticide. 

McLennan,  Studies  in  Ancient  History^  Sec,  Ser.,  London 
and  New  York,  1896,  chap.  vii. 
Ploss,  Das  Kind,  etc.,  ii.,  243-264. 
Treatment  of  Twins. 
lb.,  ii.,  265-275. 
Infant  Mortality  in  Civilisation. 

Newsholme,  The  Elanents  of  Vital  Statistics,  London  and 
New  York,  1899,  chap.  xiv. 
Illegitimacy  a  Factor  in  Infant  Mortality. 

Report   of  the    Inter-departmental  Committee    on    Physical 
Deterioration,   London,  1904,  pp.  133-4. 
Child  Mortality  Caused  by  Maternal  Neglect. 

Jevons,  Married  Women  i?i  Factories  in  Methods  of  So- 
cial Reform,   London  1883. 

FCETICIDE. 

Ploss  and  Bartels,     Das   Weib  in  der  Natur-  und  Volker- 
kunde,  Leipzig,  1902,  i.,  842-852,  863-867. 
Unlucky  and  Lucky  Children. 

Rose,  Unlucky  a7id  Lucky  Children  and  Some  Birth  Super- 
stitions in  Folklore,  xiii.,  278  ff. 
Evidence  of  Desirability  of  Offspring. 

Friedrichs,  Eitizeluntersuc/noigen  zur  vergleichende  Rechts- 
wissenschaft :  Familie7istufe7i  und  F.heformen  in  Zt.f.  Verglei- 
chende Rechtswissenschaft,  x.,  219-253. 

Analysis  of  Birth-Rates. 

Mayo-Smith,  Statistics  and  Sociology,  London  and  New 
York,  1895,  pp.  63-75. 

Newsholme,  The  Elements  of  Vital  Statistics,  chap.  ix. 

Social  Checks  upon  Population. 

lb.,  chapters  vii.-viii. 

Ogle  :  On  Marriage-Rates  a7id Marriage-Ages,  with  Special 
Reference  to  the  Groivth  of  Population,  in  Jourii.  of  the  Royal 
Statistical  Society,  liii.  (1890),  253-280. 

Levasseur,  La  population  fran^aise,  Paris,  1889-92,  ii., 
chaps,  vii.-x, 


Social  Factors  in  Birth  &  Child  Death  Rates  53 

Malthus,  An  Essay  on  the  Principle  of  Population,  Bk. 
IV.,  chaps,  i.  and  ii.  (  on  postponement  of  age  of  marriage). 

NOTE   B 

The    Causes    of    "Race  Suicide"  among    Native-born    in 
THE  United  States. 

Defects  of  higher  education.  Hall  and  Smith  Marriage 
and  Fecundity  of  College  Men  and  Women  in  The  Peda- 
gogical Seminary,  x.   (1903),  275-314. 

Not  higher  education  among  men.  Engelmann,  ^^«r«//<?« 
not  the  Cause  of  Race  Decline  in  Popular  Science  Monthly, 
Ixiii.   (1903),   172-184. 

Desire  of  native-born   population   to  maintain  its  social 

standards  in  face  of  competition  by  immigrants.   Bushee,  The 

Declining   Birth   Rate    Popular   in  Science    Monthly^    Ixiii. 

(1903),  355-361- 

For  the  controversy  on  the  relation  of  female  infanticide  to 

exogamy  see 

NOTE  C 

Make  a  comparative  study  ( i)  of  the  treatment  of  twins, 
(2)  of  the  infanticide  of  illegitimate  offspring,  (3)  of  the  agent  in 
infanticide,  father,  mother,  kinsman,  etc.,  (4)  of  the  person  or 
persons  whose  consent  the  agent  must  obtain.  When  is  and  when 
is  not  female  infanticide  a  survival  of  general  infanticide  ?  Are 
infanticide  and  foeticide  found  among  groups  where  there  is  a 
high  infant  death-rate  due  to  natural  causes  ?  Compile  all  the 
obtainable  reports  of  existing  foundling  asylums  in  Europe  and 
the  United  States.  Study  beliefs  and  practices  in  connection 
with  unlucky  children. 

NOTE   D 
Veddahs: 

Women  are  fruitful,  but  great  majority  of  children  die  of  fever. 
In  one  case,  19  families  had  only  13  children,    10  couples  had 
none  at  all.  p.  469.     Infanticide  not  practised,   p.  469. 
Yahgan: 

A  woman  bears  rarely  more  than  6  children  because  of  lapse 
of  time  between  births,  vii.,  172.      Women  bear  on  average  4 


54  The  Family 

children,  vii.,  189.  It  is  rare  for  all  her  children  to  live; 
most  of  them  die  young,  vii.,  172-173.  Infanticide  not  custom- 
ary. X.,  331.  If  a  mother  dies,  a  suckling  will  soon  find  a 
devoted  foster-mother,  vii.,  171.  Infants  very  rarely  killed  ex- 
cept under  special  circumstances,  /.  <?.,  when  mother  has  been 
deserted  by  husband,  she  often  kills  her  child,  vii.,  169  Off- 
spring called  upon  to  aid  old  parents.  Generally,  after  a  father 
has  passed  beyond  working  age,  his  son  makes  him  a  dug-out 
every  season.  If  a  widower,  entirely  supported  by  eldest  son. 
vii.,  176.  If  a  child  is  deformed,  or  characterised  by  great 
physical  imperfection,  killed  very  soon  after  birth,  vii.,  p.  169. 
If  a  mother  has  only  daug!iters,  the  last  arrival  is  sometimes 
killed,  vii.,  169. 

Central  Australians: 

Number  of  children  rarely  exceeds  4  or  perhaps  5  in  a  family, 
and  as  a  general  rule,  is  less  still,  perhaps  2  or  3.  p.  264.  Infanti- 
cide undoubtedly  practised,  but  except  on  rare  occasions  child 
killed  immediately  on  birth,  and  then  only  when  mother  is,  or 
thinks  she  is,  unable  to  rear  it  owing  to  there  being  a  young 
child  whom  she  is  still  feeding,  p.  51.  Twins  are  of  extremely 
rare  occurrence;  usually  immediately  killed  as  something  un- 
natural, p.  52. 

Believed  that  spirit  part  of  child  at  birth  goes  back  at  once  to 
particular  spot  from  whence  it  came  and  can  be  born  again  at 
some  subsequent  time  even  of  same  woman,  pp.  51-52.  On  one 
side  of  the  Erathipa  stone  a  round  hole  through  which  spirit 
children  supposed  to  be  on  the  lookout  for  women  who  may 
chance  to  pass  near  and  firmly  believed  that  visiting  stone  will 
result  in  conception.  If  a  young  woman  has  to  pass  near  stone 
and  does  not  wish  to  have  a  child,  she  will  carefully  disguise 
her  youth,  distorting  her  face  and  walking  with  aid  of  a  stick. 
She  will  bend  herself  double  like  a  very  old  woman  the  tones 
of  whose  voice  she  imitates  saying  "Don't  come  to  me,  I  am  an 
old  woman."  p.  337.  Spirit  children  supposed  to  be  especially 
fond  of  travelling  in  whirlwinds,  and  on  seeing  one  of  these  ap- 
proaching a  woman  will  at  once  run  away.  p.  125  n.  i.  If  a  man 
and  his  wife  both  wish  for  a  child,  the  man  ties  his  hair  girdle 
around  Erathipa  stone,  rubs  it  and  mutters,  "The  woman  my  wife 
you  (think)  not  good,  look."  p.  338.      A   malicious  man  may 


Social  Factors  in  Birth  &  Child  Death  Rates  55 

cause  women  and  even  children  at  a  distance  to  become  preg- 
nant by  going  to  the  Erathipa  stone,  rubbing  it  and  muttering, 
**  Plenty  of  young  women,  you  look  and  go  quickly."  p.  338. 

Possibly  sterility  in  many  cases  associated  with  injury  received 
during  initiation  rite  of  Arilt  hakuma.  p.  52  n.  i. 
Point   Barrow   Eskimo: 

Families  rarely  have  more  than  2  or  3  children,  and  it  is  not 
uncommon  for  them  to  have  none.  p.  29.  The  women  are  not  pro- 
lific; although  all  adults  are  or  have  been  married,  many  of  them 
are  childless,  and  few  have  more  than  2  children,  p.  38.  No  case 
of  infanticide  heard  of.  Children  very  scarce  and  seemed 
highly  prized,  yet  state  that  a  child  is  destroyed  when  diseased 
or  in  scarce  seasons  when  one  or  both  parents  die.  pp.  145-47. 

Stated  that  women  do  not  commonly  bear  children  before  20, 
and  no  mothers  seen  who  appeared  younger  than  this.  p.  39. 
Unlimited  intercourse  between  white  sailors  and  Eskimo  women. 
This  prostitution  may  have  something  to  do  with  want  of 
fertility,  p.  54. 
Behring  Strait  Eskimo: 

Formerly  a  common  custom  to  kill  female  children  at  birth  if 
they  were  not  wanted,  and  girls  were  often  killed  when  from  4 
to  six  years  old.  p.  289.  Girls  looked  upon  as  a  burden  be- 
cause incapable  of  contributing  to  food  supply  of  family,  p.  289, 
If  a  man  had  a  daughter  not  more  than  5  or  6  years  old  who 
cried  much,  or  if  he  disliked  her  for  any  reason,  or  was  unable  to 
obtain  food  for  the  family,  he  would  expose  her.  p. 290.  In  one 
village  where  there  had  been  a  famine,  the  bodies  of  over  200 
adults  were  found,  but  no  children,  p.  270. 

Infants  when  killed  taken  out  naked  to  graveyard  and  there 
exposed  to  cold,  their  mouths  filled  with  snow.  p.  289. 

People  fear  to  die  unless  they  have  some  one  to  make  offerings 
to  their  memory,  and  childless  persons  generally  adopt  a  child,  as 
people  who  have  no  one  to  make  offerings  for  them  are  supposed 
to  suffer  great  destitution  in  the  other  world.  Regarded  as 
severest  punishment  possible  to  have  these  rites  neglected. 
When  a  person  has  been  very  much  disliked,  his  shade  is  some- 
times purposely  ignored,  p.  364. 
Central  Eskimo: 

Infanticide  has  been  practised  to  a  certain  extent,  but  probably 


56  The  Family 

only  in  cases  of  females  or  children  of  widows  or  widowers  on 
account  of  difficulty  of  providing  for  them.  p.  580. 
Melanesians: 

Infanticide  very  common.  More  prevalent  in  some  islands 
than  in  others.  Old  women  generally  determine  whether  a  new- 
born infant  shall  live  ;  if  not  promising  in  appearence  or  likely  to 
be  troublesome,  suffocated.  Banks' Isls.:  If  of  wrong  sex  (male 
children  killed  rather  than  female)  or  otherwise  unwelcome,  infant 
choked  at  birth,  p.  229.  Ghost  of  a  woman  dying  in  childbirth 
cannot  go  to  Panoi,  paradise,  if  her  child  live,  for  she  cannot 
leave  it.  They  therefore  deceive  her  ghost  by  laying  in  her 
bosom  a  piece  of  banana  trunk  done  up  in  leaves  for  the  child, 
p.  275.  [Perhaps  a  survival  of  a  former  practice  of  infanticide 
at  death  of  mother.] 

Ewe-Speaking  Peoples: 

The  god  Legba  is  sacrificed  to,  to  remove  barrenness,  p.  44.  A 
woman  bearing  twins  is  now  honoured.  Stated  that  formerly  in 
Whydah  such  a  birth  was  a  scandal  as  it  was  thought  indicative 
of  adultery,  p.  52.  According  to  local  report  a  child  born  with 
teeth  about  1883  was  thrown  into  sea  by  order  of  king  because 
Buko-no  (divines)  declared  it  was  animated  by  soul  of  preced- 
ing monarch,  p.  116. 

In  Dahomi,  by  state  policy,  the  Amazons  (a  military  body  of 
about  3000  women)  are  considered  the  king's  wives.     They   are 
sworn  to  celibacy,  and  secret  death  is  the  punishment  of  broken 
vows.  pp.  184,  187. 
Tshi-Speaking  Peoples. 

Considered  very  disgraceful,  also  a  great  misfortune,  for  a 
woman  not  to  bear  children,  p.  94.  In  parts  of  Ahanta,  if  a 
women  has  borne  10  children  she  is  obliged  to  separate  from  her 
husband  for  one  year.  pp.  284-285.  Sacrifices  made  to  the  family 
god  to  prevent  sterility,  pp.  92-93.  If  a  mother  die  in  child- 
birth it  is  customary  to  bury  living  child  with  her,  idea  seeming 
to  be  that  child  belonging  to  the  mother  should  accompany  her 
after  death.  This  custom  no  longer  exists  in  the  colony  but  is  still 
in  force  in  independent  tribes.  Until  very  recently,  customary 
in  parts  of  Ahanta  for  the  tenth  child  of  same  mother  to  be 
buried  alive.  (Perhaps  a  survival  of  a  custom  of  an  older  peo- 
ple.) p.  234. 


Social  Factors  in  Birth  &  Child  Death  Rates  57 

Yoruba-Speaking  Peoples. 

Considered  a  disgrace  not  to  bear  children.  Offerings  made 
to  the  god  of  fecundity,  //a,  before  marriage,  p.  56.  Said  to  be 
usual  in  Ondo  to  destroy  one  of  twins.  If  true,  probably  a  cus- 
tom borrowed  from  Benin  tribes  to  the  east,  as  it  is  contrary  to 
native  practice,  p.  81. 

Thompson  River  Indians: 

In  Spence's  Bridge  band  from  1884-94  a  very  high  death-rate, 
the  principal  cause  of  the  band's  decrease  being  the  great  mor- 
tality among  children,  p.  157.  Newly  born  babes  were  sometimes, 
but  very  rarely,  killed  by  strangling  or  drowning,  but  women  who 
did  so  were  thought  very  severely  of  and  publicly  reprimanded, 
p.  305.  Sometimes,  when  a  mother  died,  leaving  an  infant 
child,  it  was  wrapped  up  in  a  robe  and  buried  alive  with  mother. 
Done  because,  they  said,  the  child  would  die  anyway,  and  it  was 
often  hard  to  obtain  any  other  woman  to  suckle  it.  p.  329.  A 
woman  about  to  be  delivered  of  twins  was  generally  made  aware 
of  fact  beforehand  by  repeated  appearance  of  a  grizzly  bear  in 
her  dreams  ;  therefore  twins  regarded  as  different  from  other 
children,  and  treated  accordingly.  Called  "  grizzly-bear  child- 
ren "  or  "hairy-feet"  children,  p.  310. 

Abortion  rarely  practised;  effected  by  drinking  of  medicine,  p. 

305- 

After-birth  taken  away  and  hung  up  on  branch  of  a  tree  that 
no  dog  or  child  might  touch  it.  If  touched  by  either,  woman 
would  have  no  more  children,  p.  304.  Barren  women  desirous 
of  having  children  ate  a  roasted  mouse  of  a  certain  species,  pp. 
308-309.  A  young  child  always  buried  some  distance  away  from 
old  graves,  otherwise  its  mother  would  have  no  more  children,  p. 
330.  Buck's  penis  sometimes  eaten  by  women  that  they  might 
bear  male  children,  p.  309. 

A  period  of  conjugal  separation,  formerly  lasting  3  or  4  months, 
at  present   six  weeks,  follows  child-birth,  p.  305. 

Kabyles: 

Illegitimate  children  killed,  ii.,  187.  If  a  mother  killed  her 
child  against  wish  of  husband,  his  family  exacts  the  rek'ba,  blood 
penalty,  of  her  family.  Her  kharouba  may  escape  all  respon- 
sibility by  giving  her  over  to  her  husband's  vengeance   or   by 


sS  The  Family 

killing  her  themselves.     If  infanticide  has  been  committed  with 
husband's  consent,  a  fine  only  is  imposed  by  village  council. 

Foeticide  classed  with  infanticide,  iii.,  64.  Seubka.  If  a  wife 
causes  an  abortion  under  her  husband's  roof,  she  is  killed;  if  in 
the  house  of  her  relatives,  they  are  responsible,  and  subject  to 
the  debt  of  blood  if  the  child  is  a  boy,  and  to  payment  of  com- 
position money  if  a  girl,   iii,,   439. 

Ancient  Arabs: 

And  slay  not  your  children  for  fear  of  poverty;  .  .  .beware!  for 
to  slay  them  is  ever  a  great  sin.  xvii.,  32.  When  any  one  of 
them  has  tidings  of  a  female  child,  his  face  is  overclouded  and 
black,  and  he  has  to  keep  back  his  wrath.  He  skulks  away 
from  the  people,  for  the  evil  tidings  he  has  heard  ; — is  he  to  keep 
it  with  its  disgrace,  or  to  bury  it  in  the  dust  ? — aye  !  evil  is  it  that 
they  judge!  xvi.,  60-61.  Losers  are  they  who  kill  their  children 
foolishly,  without  knowledge,  and  who  prohibit  what  God  has 
bestowed  upon  them,  forging  a  lie  against  God;  they  have  erred 
and  are  not  guided,    vi.,    141. 

Ancient  Hebrews: 

God  said  unto  them,  Be  fruitful,  and  multiply,  and  replenish 
the  earth,     .     .     .     Gen.  i.,  28  a.x\d />assim. 

Ancient  Hindus: 

Libations  of  water  shall  not  be  offered  to  women  who  have 
caused  an  abortion,  v.,  89-90. 

By  procreation  of  sons  the  human  body  is  made  fit  for 
union  with  Brahman,  ii.,  28.  A  twice-born  man  who  seeks  final 
liberation  without  having  begotten  sons  sinks  downwards,  vi., 
36-37.  He  only  is  a  perfect  man  who  consists  of  three  persons 
united,  his  wife,  himself,  and  his  offspring,  ix.,  45.  Through  a 
son  he  conquers  the  worlds,  through  a  son's  son  he  obtains 
immortality,  but  through  his  son's  grandson  he  gains  the  world  of 
the  sun.  ix.,  137.  The  sacrificer's7?/.y/ wife  may  eat  the  middle- 
most cake  at  the  sacrifice  to  the  manes — if  desirous  of  bearing  a 
son.   iii.,   262. 

There  is  no  sin  in  carnal  intercourse,  but  abstention  brings 
great  rewards,  v.,  56.  Many  thousands  of  Brahmanas  who 
were  chaste  from  their  youth  have  gone  to  heaven  without  con- 
tinuing their  race,  v.,  159. 


Social  Factors  in  Birth  &  Child  Death  Rates  59 

Ancient  Romans: 

Malformed   infants   may   be   immediately   destroyed  by   the 
father  in  the  presence  of  5  neighbours.     Table  IV. 

Free-born  women  are  released  from  tutorship  on  the  ground 
of  having  3  children;  freedwomen,  on  the  ground  of  having  4 
children.  G  i.,  §194-  Under  the  Twelve  Tables  there  was  no  right 
of  reciprocal  succession  between  a  mother  and  her  son  or  daugh- 
ter. By  the  Tertullian  decree  of  the  Senate,  a  free-born  mother 
with  3  children  or  a  freedwoman  with  4  was  admitted  to  take 
property  of  deceased  intestate  children.  Justinian  abolished 
the  proviso  in  respect  to  child-bearing,  for  "  how  has  she  sinned 
in  not  having  many,  but  a  few,  children?"    /.  iii.,  ///.,  §§1-4. 


LECTURE  IV 


PARENTAL   POWER 


Parental  o\vnership 
or  control 


PARENTAL  mastery,  ownership,  or  control  is  the 
usual  accompaniment  of  filial  dependence.  In 
many  communities,  the  parents  or  parent  (commonly 
the  father)  have  unrestricted  possession  of  offspring. 
The  child  is  their  chattel  to  kill  at  birth  or  in  later  life, 
devour,  sell  or  pawn,  give  away,  make  work,  offer  up 
in  blood  sacrifice  or  in  lifelong  dedication  to  deity, 
abuse,  etc.,  at  pleasure.  In  other  communities,  on  the 
other  hand,  this  parental  absolutism  is  limited  in  many 
ways.^ 
Restrictions  of  par-       We  have  already  seen  how  the  practices  of  infanti- 

ental  power  .  ,      ^         .     .   ,  ,  .  , 

cide  and  foeticide  may  be  restricted  or  wholly  con- 
on  power  over  life  demncd,  or  prohibited.  The  right  to  kill,  sell,  or 
pawn  offspring  may  be'allowed  only  under  circumstan- 
ces of  filial  misbehaviour,  or  of  poverty  or  indebtedness 
On  Belling  or  pawn-  qu  the  part  of  the  parcut.  Repeated  sale  of  offspring 
may  entitle  the  latter  to  freedom  from  parental  con- 
trol. Let  us  note  at  this  point  that,  although  the 
obligation  to  pay  the  debts  or  fines  of  parents,  or  to 

'  Here  as  elsewhere  in  the  study  of  the  family  we  must  consider  our  subject  in 
relation  to  the  other  conditions  that  prevail  in  a  given  group.  In  groups 
where  economic  or  juridical  ideas  or  practices  are  undeveloped,  paternal  masters 
will  be  very  different  from  the  paternal  ownership  of  more  advanced  groups. 
Let  us  not  fall  into  the  error  of  Sir  Henry  Sumner  Maine  in  believing  that 
the  pairia  poieslas  of  the  Romans  "  is  necessarily  our  type  of  the  primeval 
paternal   authority." — Ancient  Law,  1870,  p.  138. 

60 


ing 


Parental  Power  6i 

support  them  when  invalid  or  aged/  or  the  HabiHty  to 

be  enslaved  by  their  creditors  or  to  be  punished  for 

their  misdeeds,  may  follow  in  part  from  the   idea  of 

parental  ownership,  yet  such  obligations  and  liabili-  Mutual  liability  for 

ties   may  also  be   part  of  the  general   solidarity    of  paS'y'?e''s?ito'^r'" 

kinship    characteristic    of    ethnic    society.       Similar  g'"^'-^'  kinship 

*■  •'  solidarity 

motives  or  combinations  of  motives  enter  into  the 
responsibility  which  frequently  falls  upon  parents 
also  for  the  fines,  debts,  etc.,  of  offspring.  This  may 
be  also  a  corollary  of  parental  ownership  merely, 
offspring  who  do  not  control  their  own  product  not 
having  the  means  to  be  personally  liable  in  such  cases. 

Under  well  developed  ethnic  organisation  guar-  Ethnic  organisation 
dianship  (protection  and  control)  of  offspring  may  be  a^^  guardianship 
shared  with  the  parent  by  a  circle  of  kinsfolk,  or  it  may 
be  with  the  parent  as  the  head  of  the  kinsfolk  group 
or  it  may  be  wholly  in  the  hands  of  the  kinsfolk,  or 
head  of  the  kinsfolk.  A  fuller  consideration  of  these 
facts  we  shall  postpone  to  the  discussion  of  types  of 
compound  family. 

Frequently,  as  we  have  already  seen  in  the  case  of  parental  ownership 
infanticide  and  as  we  shall  soon  see  in  customs  of  dis-  restricted  in  case  of 
posal  in  marriage,  parental  ownership  is  much  more 
restricted  in  the  case  of  sons  than  of  daughters.     The 
right  to  kill  later  in  life  or  to  sell  may,  for  example, 
apply  only  to  daughters. 

The  consideration  of  parental  control  as  an  educa- 
tional method,  in  distinction  to  parental  control  as 
the  direct  outcome  of  parental  ownership,  we  shall 

'  The  obligation  to  support  a  widowed  mother  or  unmarried  sister  may,  in 
groups  where  the  chattel  character  of  women  is  pronounced,  be  merely  a 
corollary  of  the  inheritance  by  the  son  of  his  deceased  father's  proprietary  con- 
trol over  the  women  of  the  family. 


sons 


62 


The  Family 


Sexual  hospitality 


Prostitution  by 

parent 

Marriage  bybarter, 

service,  purchase 


Full  discussion 
postponed 


Infant  and  child- 
betrothal 


Bride-price  or 
gifts  at  betrothal 


Betrothal  visits  or 
adoption  of  be- 
trothed by  family 
of  future  wife  or 
husband 


consider  in  the  following  lecture.  At  present  we 
shall  consider  one  of  the  most  persistent  expressions 
of  parental  ownership,  the  claim  of  parents  to  dispose 
of  offspring  in  marriage. 

Daughters  (as  well  as  wives,  sisters,  etc.)  are  some- 
times given  temporarily  to  guests  for  sexual  inter- 
course as  an  act  of  hospitality.  They  are  sometimes 
hired  out  or  prostituted.  Commonly,  however,  wher- 
ever the  idea  of  parental  or  kinsfolk  ownership  more 
or  less  prevails,  daughters  are  married  off  in  exchange 
for  another  woman,  for  a  wife  for  the  father  himself 
or  for  his  son,  or  for  specified  service  by  the  son- 
in-law,  or  for  a  given  amount  of  goods — a  bride-price. 

We  shall  consider  the  meaning  and  effects  in 
general  of  marriage  by  barter,  service  and  purchase 
when  we  discuss  the  subject  of  marriage.  At  present 
we  shall  note  merely  the  various  expressions  of  and 
restrictions  upon  parental  power  that  occur  in  this 
connection. 

Infant-  and  child-betrothal  is  a  widespread  practice. 
Contracts  may  be  made  between  parents  even  before 
the  birth  of  offspring.  Part  or  all  of  the  bride-price 
may  be  paid  at  betrothal,  or  there  may  be  merely  a 
making  of  presents  which  are  quite  distinct  from  the 
bride-price  proper.  The  engagement  may  or  may 
not  be  thought  of  as  binding.  Failure  to  carry  it  out 
usually  involves  the  return  or  forfeiture  of  gifts  or 
bride-price.  In  some  cases  the  betrothed  child  goes 
to  live  temporarily  or  permanently  with  the  family  of 
the  future  wife  or  husband.  In  the  latter  case  the 
betrothal  may  be  thought  of  practically  as  a  marriage, 
there  beine  no  additional  ceremonial  when  the  be- 
trothed  children   become    marriageable.       Betrothal 


Parental  Power  63 

gifts  may  be  even  thought  of  as  indemnification  to 
the  girl's  parents  for  supporting  her  until  nubility. 
In  general  the  practice  of  infant-  or  child-betrothal 
indicates  that  the  father  or  guardian  controls  the  nag/ofsonT^'^' 
marriage  of  sons  as  well  as  of  daughters.  A 
female  child  is  not  uncommonly  betrothed  to  an  adult 
male,*  but  even  in  this  case  the  father  or  guardian  of 
the  future  husband,  if  the  latter  is  youthful,  may  plan 
the  match.  It  is  interesting  to  note  in  this  connection 
however,  that  in  the  case  of  sons  this  form  of  parental 
control  is  usually  thought  of  from  the  beginning  as 
a  parental  obligation  to  provide  a  wife  for  the  son.  obuJatSf 
The  right  of  selling  a  daughter  in  marriage  is  also  at 
times  accompanied  by  or  substituted  for  the  obliga- 
tion of  providing  a  husband  for  her.  It  may  be  con- 
sidered discreditable,  for  example,  to  keep  a  daughter 
unmarried  after  she  has  reached  a  certain  age,  or  ad- 
vertisement of  the  marriageability  of  a  daughter  may 
be  incumbent  on  her  parents.  The  bride-price  that 
has  been  received  for  a  daughter  may  even  be  used 
to  pay  for  a  son's  wife. 

In  spite  of  established  custom  or  law,  elopements  Elopement 
occur  in  almost  all  societies.  The  treatment  accorded 
the  eloping  couple  if  caught,  or  when  voluntarily 
returning  home,  and  the  position  given  to  their  off- 
spring, indicate  the  strength  of  the  customary  par- 
ental right  of  disposal  in  marriage.  As  we  shall 
see  later,  ^  customary  elopement  or  marriage  by  cap- 
ture may  combine  with    marriage   by   purchase,   the 

'  The  case  of  the  nominal  marriage  of  an  adult  female  to  a  male  child,   the 
boy's  father  being  the  real  husband,  is  merely  one  of  the  vagaries  of  marriage 
in  its  legal  sense.     See  p.  139. 
*  Lecture  IX. 


choice  of  huBbaod 
by  parents 


64  The  Family 

guardian  being  regularly  compensated  after  the 
abduction. 

Restrictions  upon  Bcsidcs  thc   individualistic   protests    of   an   elope- 

ment, there  are  various  socially  recognised  restrictions 
upon  the  parents'  exclusive  right  of  choosing  mates 
for  sons  and  daughters.  Here  we  shall  only  con- 
sider the  extent  of  the  girl's  say  in  the  matter.  Simi- 
lar but  greater  privileges  exist  in  the  case  of  sons. 
Moreover,  in  a  great  many  cases  where  daughters 
have  little  or  no  sexual  choice,  sons  are  left  un- 
hampered. (Ethnographers  are  apt  to  be  very 
remiss  in  failing  to  state  these  distinctions  according 
to  sex  in  their  accounts  of  restrictions  upon  sexual 
choice.)  (i)  While  a  girl  may  not  be  allowed  to 
choose  her  husband,  she  may  not  be  compelled  to 
marry  against  her  will.  If  betrothed  during  child- 
hood, for  example,  she  may,  when  marriageable, 
refuse  to  carry  out  the  contract.  (2)  It  may  be 
customary  for  her  parents  to  consult  her  in  regard  to 
their  choice  of  a  husband.  (3)  She  may  choose  her 
husband  herself,  but  parental  consent  is  necessary  to 
the  validity  of  the  marriage.  (4)  Parental  consent 
is  necessary  only  when  she  is  under  a  certain  age. 

Free  choice  by  Widows  or  divorccd  women  are  frequently  depend- 

ent upon  parents,  yet  they  have,  as  a  rule,  more 
choice  in  their  second  than  in  their  first  marriage. 
The  many  restrictions  of  another  character  upon  the 
remarriage  of  widows  and  divorced  women  we  shall 
consider  later.^ 

The  history  of  the  bride-price  and  of  its  passing 
into  forms  of  dower  or  dowery  has  important  bear- 
ings upon  conjugal  as  well   as  upon  filial  relations. 

'  See  pp.  140-1,  143. 


widows  and 
divorced  women 


Parental  Power  65 

Let  us  confine  ourselves  at  present,  however,  to  the 
latter  facts. 

In  marriage  by  purchase  the  character  of  the  Nature  of 
bride-price  varies  from  all  degrees  of  indefiniteness 
as  voluntary  and  casual  gifts  which  often  can  not 
properly  be  considered  as  a  bride-price  to  fully  pre- 
scribed amounts  of  property.  An  excess  of  a  cus- 
tomary amount  may  even  be  punished  by  fine.  It 
may  vary  according  to  the  rank  of  the  groom  or  of 
the  bride's  father  or  of  both.  Under  circumstances  of 
consanguineous  marriage  or  of  marriage  with  rela- 
tives by  affinity,  the  bride-price  may  be  lessened  or 
wholly  dispensed  with.^  The  bride-price  may  be  how  paid 
paid  as  a  whole  or  in  instalments.  Frequently  part 
of  it,  as  we  have  seen,  is  paid  at  betrothal,  whether  of 
infants  or  of  adults,  thereby  making  the  betrothal 
binding.  The  groom  may  sometimes  have  inter-  combined  forms 
course  or  live  with  the  bride  in  her  father's  home,  or 


service 


he  may  take  her  to  his  home  before  the  bride-price  is 
paid  in  full.     In  either  case  it  may  be  customary  for  of  service 
the  first  child   or  first  dauorfiter  or  for  all   children  ^"  ^"'^'^ 
born  before  the  debt  is  paid  to  belong  to  the  wife's  Forms  of 
family.       Marriage  by  service    frequently    occurs    in 
substitution,  in  whole  or   in  part,  for  the   bride-price. 
Service  is  also  found  where  there  is  no  other  kind  of 
compensation    for    the  bride,  the  groom  living  with 
and  serving  his  wife's  family  for  a  set  period,  or  living 
independently  with  his  wife  but  contributing  a  por- 
tion of  his  products  to  her  family.     The  service  of  a 
son-in-law  may  continue  more  or  less  informally  after 
his  wife   is  paid  up   for,    and   special  obligations  of 
support  or  protection  or  respect  may  fall  upon  him. 

'See  pp.  93-4,  164,  also  pp.  161-2,  for  traits  in  bride  affecting  price. 


66 


The  Family 


Return-gifts 


Dower 


Dowery 


Claim  on  dowery 
by  bride's  family 


Significance   of 
dower  and  dowery 


The  bride-price 
honourable    to  the 
bride 


A  return-gift  may  be  made  to  the  groom,  or  the 
groom's  father,  or  relatives,  by  the  bride,  or  the  bride's 
father,  or  relatives.  Sometimes,  in  this  case,  the  exact 
equivalent  of  the  bride-price  is  customary,  or  the  bride- 
price  itself  may  be  actually  returned.  The  groom 
his  father,  or  family  may  make  presents  to  the  bride 
(dower ^)  before  or  after  marriage  (morning-gift). 
He  or  they  may  also  make  presents  as  well  to  her 
family.  The  bride's  father  or  family  may  receive 
presents  and  then  bestow  them  or  their  equiva- 
lents upon  the  bride  (dowery),  or  they  may  bestow 
presents  upon  the  bride  without  having  themselves 
been  recipients.  Frequently  they  do  not  relinquish 
all  claims  upon  such  marriage  settlements,  reserv- 
ing the  right  to  reclaim  the  property  at  the  woman's 
death  or  in  case  of  her  divorce  or  widowhood. 

The  existence  of  all  forms  or  traces  of  dower  or 
dowery  is  of  great  interest  as  indicating,  if  even  to  a 
slight  extent,  modifications  in  the  idea  of  parental 
(and  marital)  ownership.  It  is  significant  in  this  con- 
nection that  even  in  communities  in  the  cruder  stag-es 
of  parental  (and  marital)  ownership  the  giving  and  re- 
ceiving of  a  bride-price  is  a  mark  of  distinction  due 
to  the  bride  herself.  It  is  a  part  of  the  marriage  cere- 
monial necessary  for  an  honourable  marriage.  Under 
polygny  or  concubinage,  for  example,  the  bride- 
price  or  wedding  gift  is  sometimes  paid  or  made  only 
in  the  marriage  of  the  superior  or  head  wife.  Again, 
the  offspring  of  a  woman  for  whom  no  bride-price 
has  been  paid  may  be  accounted  illegitimate.  Of  simi. 
lar  interest  are  the  not  uncommon  social  fictions  about 


'  In  this  sense  of  course  much  more  comprehensive  than  in  its  meaning  in  Eng- 
lish law  (the  right  of  a  widow  to  share  in  her  deceased  husband's  real  property). 


Parental  Power  67 

the  meaning  of  the  bride-price.  It  is  frequently 
alleged  by  a  given  group  that  it  in  no  sense  repre- 
sents an  act  of  purchase. 

There  are  rare  cases  of  what  may  be  called,   in  Groom-price  and 

•'  husband  purchase 

analogy  to  the  bride-price,  a  groom-price.  It  is  a  com- 
pensation, and  this  is  sometimes  the  explanation  of 
the  bride-price  also,  for  depriving  the  groom's  family 
of  his  service.  Again,  where  the  dowery  is  on  a  big 
scale  and  where  it  is  practically  a  settlement  for  the 
benefit  of  the  husband,  it  has  been  suggested  that  in 
this  practice  we  have  a  form  of  husband-purchase 
analogous  to  wife-purchase. 

It  should  be  noted  that  the  right  of  the  father  to 
dispose  of  offspring  in  marriage  is  frequently,  as  in 
other  matters  of  guardianship,  a  fact  that  we  have 
already  referred  to,  shared  or  even  precluded  by 
other  kinsfolk.  The  mother  and  her  relatives, 
brothers,  father,  etc.,  or  the  father's  own  kinsfolk,  may 
hold  the  guardianship  of  the  child  and  with  the  guar- 
dianship the  right  to  dispose  of  him  or  her  in  mar- 
riage. Sometimes,  again,  a  girl's  brother  has  the 
right.  The  duty  of  providing  the  marriage  gifts  or 
purchase  price  may  also  fall  upon  these  relatives. 

NOTE  A. 

Subjection  of  Offspring. 

Wilutzky,  Vorgeschichte  des  Kechts,  Breslau,  1903,11.,  15-21 
24-27. 

Niebohr,  Slavery  as  an  Industrial  System,  The  Hague,  1900, 
pp.    24-29. 
Rights  of  Guardianship. 

Post,  Grundriss  der  ethnologischen  Jurisprudenz,  Olden- 
burg and  Leipzig,  1894,  i.,  168-180;  Studiujn  zur  Entwick- 
lungsgeschichte  des  Familienrechts,  Oldenburg  and  Leipzig, 
1889,    pp.  157-171. 


68  The  Family 

Ageof  Girls  BeginningWork  inCities  of  the  United  States. 
Wright,     Workifig    Wotnen    in   Large  Cities,  pp.  120-179 
in  Fourth  Annual    Report  of  the    Commissioner  of   Labor, 
Washington,  1889. 
Earnings  of  Children  in  York. 

Rowntree,  Poverty,  a  Study  of  Town  Life,  pp.  59-60. 
Earnings  of  Children  in  London. 

Booth,  Life  and  Labour,  ix.,  421-424,  434-435  ;  x,  43. 
Marriage  by  Purchase,  Barter,  and  Service. 

Post,  Fatnilienrechts,  pp.  173-201;   Grundriss,  etc.,  i.,  286- 
305.  317-320. 
Child-betrothal. 

Lb.,  i.,  320-327;  Familienrechts,\)Y).   205-215. 
Furnivall,  Child-marriages,  Divorces,  and  Ratifications^  etc. 
in  the  Diocese  of  Chester  1^61-66,  pp.  xv.-xliii.,  1-55,  m  Publi- 
cations of  Farly  Ffiglish  Text  Society,  London,  1897. 

The  Liberty  of  Sexual  Choice. 

Westermarck,   The  LListory  of  LLuman  Marriage,   London 
and  New  York,  1896,  Chap.  x. 
Transition  of  Bride-price  into  Dower  and  Dowery. 
lb..  Chap,  xviii. 

NOTE  B. 

The  Genesis  of  Betrothal. 

The  means  of  securing  chastity  before  marriage.  Post, 
HausgenossenschaftundGruppenehen  in  Ausland,  1891,  p.  845, 

A  means  of  securing  a  son's  or  daughter's  consent  to  the 
marriage  choice  of  their  parents.  Likewise  a  means  of 
securing  a  wife  in  advance  for  a  son  in  view  of  a  scarcity  of 
women.  Steinmetz,  Ethnologische  Studien  zur  ersten  Entwic- 
kelung  der  Strafe,  ii.,  279,  Leiden  and  Leipzig,  1894. 

Child-betrothal :  Where  there  is  marriage  by  barter,  a 
father  may  not  have  on  hand  a  marriageable  daughter  to  give 
in  exchange  for  a  wife,  e.g.,  for  his  son,  he  therefore  promises 
a  younger  daughter  as  soon  as  she  is  nubile.  Cunow,  Bases 
ico}io7niques  du  matriarcat  in  Le  Devenir  Social,  iv.  (1898),  52. 

NOTE  C. 

Make  a  comparative  study  (i)  of  the  dedication  of  offspring  to 
deity,    (2)  of   parental   cannibalism,    (3)    of   restrictions  upon 


Parental  Power  69 

parental  power,  (4)  of  distinctions  in  parental  power  according 
to  sex  of  offspring,  (5)  of  parental  control  of  marriage  of  sons,  (6) 
of  the  treatment  accorded  to  marriage  elopers,  indicating  when 
possible  when  the  treatment  points  to  a  strengthening  or  weak- 
ening of  parental  power,  (7)  of  the  belief  that  the  bride-price  is 
a  sign  of  respect  to  the  bride  herself,  (8)  of  the  social  fictions 
about  the  meaning  of  the  bride-price,  showing  whether  or  not 
they  point  to  a  decadence  of  the  custom.  Tabulate  known  and 
doubtful  cases  in  ethnic  organisations  where  there  is  a  greater 
mutual  responsibility  between  parents  and  offspring  than  between 
other  kindred. 

NOTE    D. 
Yahgan  : 

Believe  in  a  sea  monster,  Lucooma,  and  children  and  dogs 
have  been  thrown  into  sea,  when  boats  were  endangered,  to  ap- 
pease his  fury,  vii.,  181. 

A  girl  is  not  consulted  in  regard  to  choice  of  husband.  Her 
parents  decide.  H.  &  D.  vii.,  378.  Woman  is  not,  as  a  rule, 
consulted.  Generally  bought  from  her  parents,  x.,  334.  Little 
girls  often  betrothed  to  adult  men.  vii.,  171.  Sometimes  par- 
ents agree  to  unions  between  little  boys  and  girls,  vii.,  171. 
Often  a  girl  has  an  insurmountable  aversion  for  her  husband. 
Then  she  is  given  to  man  of  her  choice,  vii.,  1 71-172. 
Central  Australians  : 

On  rare  occasions,  at  all  events  amongst  Luritcha  tribe,  child- 
ren a  few  years  old  killed,  object  of  this  being  to  feed  a  weakly 
but  elder  child,  who  is  supposed  thereby  to  gain  strength  of 
killed  one.     p.  52. 

The  head  rings  usually  made  and  presented  to  woman  by  her 
son-in-law  to  whom  she  has  to  give  her  own  hair.  p.  27,  n.  i. 
A  man's  waist  belt  made  of  human  hair,  usually  provided  by  his 
mother-in-law.  p.  30.  If  one  of  ray  Ikuniera  (fathers-in-law)  dies, 
it  is  my  duty  to  cut  my  shoulders  with  a  stone  knife  as  a  mark 
of  sorrow.  If  I  neglect  to  do  this,  then  any  one  of  the  men 
who  are  Ikuntera  to  me  has  the  right  to  take  away  my  wife  and 
give  her  to  some  other  man  to  whom  she  is  Ufiawa.  p.  75. 
Point  Barrow  Eskimo  : 

No  unusual  sight  to  see  a  little  girl  of  10  or  12  carrying  a  well- 
grown,  heavy  child  on   her  back  instead  of  its  mother,    p.  416, 


70  The  Family 

Older  children  look  after  younger.      A  boy  of  6  or  7  will   care 
for  one  of  2  or  3.  p.  417. 

Marriages  usually  arranged  by  parents,  sometimes  when  prin- 
cipals are  mere  children,     p.  410. 

Behring  Strait  Eskimo: 

From  the  lower  Yukon  to  the  Quskokvvin  child-betrothals 
common.  Parents  of  a  very  small  girl,  who  have  no  son,  may 
agree  with  parents  of  several  sons  that  one  of  the  boys  shall 
live  with  them  and  become  girl's  husband,  or  a  young  boy  may 
sometimes  choose  a  family  containing  a  girl,  in  which  he  would 
like  to  live.  He  takes  with  him  his  clothing  and  implements,  be- 
sides a  fine  suit  of  clothes  for  his  future  bride,  goes  to  people 
whom  he  has  adopted,  and  transfers  filial  duty  of  every  kind  to 
adopted  father  to  exclusion  of  his  own  parents.  In  such  cases 
girl  frequently  not  over  4  or  5.  pp.  291-292.  Sometimes  a 
couple  arrange  for  a  child-betrothal  to  take  effect  when  first 
girl  is  born.  p.  292.  Among  Unalit,  when  a  young  man  sees  a 
girl  he  wishes  to  marry,  he  tells  his  parents,  and  one  of  them  goes 
to  girl's  parents  to  ask  their  consent,  p.  291. 
Central  Eskimo  : 

In  rare  cases  of  famine,  cannibalism  resorted  to.  Children 
particularly  killed  and  eaten,     p.  574. 

Generally  children  betrothed  when  very  young,  but  these  en- 
gagements may  be  broken  off  at  any  time.  p.  578.  Frequently 
happens  that  young  man's  parents  are  unwilling  to  allow  him  to 
provide  for  his  parents-in-law,  and  then  he  may  be  rejected  at 
any  moment,  p.  579.  Consent  of  bride's  parents,  or,  if  dead, 
that  of  her  brother,  always  necessary,  p.  579.  Bride  must  be 
bought  from  parents  by  some  present,  p.  579.  As  long  as 
mother-in-law  lives  with   family  wives    are  subordinate  to   her. 

P-  579. 
Melanesians: 

Ulawa  :  A  chief  will  buy  a  girl  from  her  father  and  keep  her 
to  earn  money  by  prostitution  for  him  (the  chief)  and  herself. 

P-  235- 

Florida  :  Part  payment  on  betrothal  of  infant.  Final 
payment  given  to  women  of  bridal  party.  They  lift  bride  up  and 
carrv  her  on  back  of  one  of  them  out  of  her  father's  to  her  father- 


Parental  Power  7' 

in-law*s  house.  Here  she  stays  2  or  3  months.  Then  her  parents 
arrive  with  gifts,  5  pigs  when  the  bride-price  is  50  rongo  (coils  of 
native  money),  10,  when  it  is  100.  They  say  money  buys  the 
pigs  and  not  the  girl.  Santa  Cruz:  Bride-price  and  return  gifts 
by  bride's  relatives.  Saa  :  Early  betrothals  among  inferiors 
unusual.  Northern  New  Hebrides  :  Only  children  of  great 
people  betrothed  as  infants.  Banks'  Isls.  and  Lepers'  Isl.:  A 
betrothed  girl  child  is  often  taken  to  her  future  home  to  be 
brought  up  there.  Lepers'  Isl.:  When  betrothed  girl  is  10  years 
old,  boy's  mother  takes  her  to  her  own  house  to  teach  her  house- 
hold ways.  pp.  237-242.  A  man  with  a  son  born  to  him  looks 
out  for  the  birth  of  a  suitable  girl  to  be  his  son's  wife.    p.  237. 

Girls  never  allowed  to  go  out  without  mother  or  elder  friend, 
p.  236. 

Ewe-Speaking  Peoples  : 

Terms  for  father  mean,  "he who  owns,"  "he  who  maintains." 
p.  213.  Terms  for  mother,  "shewho  stays  in  thehouse,"  "she 
who  cooks."  p.  215.  Young  girls  dedicated  to  temple  service 
of  the  deified  king  Ajahnto  of  Porto  Novo  obliged  to  remain 
virgins.  About  1880  one  put  to  death  for  unchastity.  pp.  89-90. 
A  father  may  sell  or  pawn  his  children  with  consent  of  mother, 
if  she  be  a  free  woman.  If  mother  be  a  slave,  she  and  her  off- 
spring are  equally  the  property  of  her  owner,  who  is  free  to 
dispose  of  her  children.  Children  born  to  a  woman  in  pawn  to 
a  man  are  pawn  to  him  as  well.  A  free  woman  can  sell  or  pawn 
her  children  without  consent  of  father  if  he  refuse  to  give  her 
what  she  requires.  If  her  husband  refused  to  pay  a  fine  for  her 
she  might  sell  or  pawn  her  children  to  raise  the  money.  In  such 
cases  it  is  not  unusual  for  a  mother  to  sell  or  pawn  children  to 
their  father,  and  men  often  refuse  to  assist  their  wives  in  such 
cases,  in  order  that  they  may  thus  acquire  entire  control  of  their 
children,     p.  221. 

Payment  of  "  head-money,"  in  coin  or  cowries,  more  commonly 
in  merchandise  and  rum,  to  family  of  girl,  her  family  fixing 
amount,  constitutes  marriage,  p.  199.  A  child  or  even  unborn 
girl  may  be  betrothed  and  this  contract  cannot  be  annulled  with- 
out man's  consent.  Presents  made  by  parents  of  male  to  those 
of  female  child.  Marriage  arranged  without,  as  a  rule,  any  refer- 
ence being  made  to  her  wishes,  though  she  cannot  be  forced  into  a 


72  The  Family 

union    absolutely  repugnant,    pp.    199,   201.      Slave-girls  given 
to   brides  by  their  families,  p.  205. 
Tshi-Speaking  Peoples  : 

In  interior  as  formerly  in  colony,  when  a  great  danger  threat- 
ens a  town,  a  newly  born  infant  is  torn  limb  from  limb  as  a  sacri- 
fice to  tutelary  deity  of  place,  p.  169.  Stated  that  many  Odonko 
slaves  in  Ashanti  are  kept  exclusively  for  bearing  children  for  sac- 
rifice, p.  290.  If  a  mother  has  been  so  unfortunate  as  to  have 
had  several  of  her  children  die,  not  uncommon  for  her  to 
make  a  vow  to  devote  next-born  to  service  of  gods,  hoping 
thereby  to  preserve  its  life.  p.  120.  Father  can  not  sell  or 
pawn  a  child  without  consent  of  both  mother  and  her  relations. 
Father's  consent  also  necessary  unless  he  refuses  or  is  unable 
to  give  mother  sum  she  requires.  If  a  woman  in  pawn 
bears  children,  she  cannot  be  redeemed  without  paying  4^ 
ackies  for  each  child  born,  as  an  equivalent  for  main- 
tenance, p.  295.  After  a  disastrous  war  one  of  the  chiefs 
sold  his  son  for  $9.00  to  help  defray  his  share  in  cost  of  war. 
p.  272.  In  separation,  if  mother  is  unable  to  make  resti- 
tution of  her  expenses  she  may  leave  children  with  father  in 
pawn  and  they  are  obliged  to  serve  him  until  the  entire  sum 
with  50  per  cent,  interest  is  paid.  From  such  causes  children 
often  become  pawns  in  their  father's  house  for  life,  and  are 
inherited  as  such  by  his  heir.     p.  284. 

At  puberty,  usually  nth  or  12th  year,  a  girl  is  taken  to  the 
waterside  and  washed.  An  offering  is  made  on  the  banks  of  the 
stream  to  the  local  gods  by  her  family.  Then  she  is  publicly 
advertised  for  marriage  by  being  paraded  through  the  streets 
decked  out  in  ornaments.  Soon  after  a  suitor  pays  "head-money" 
to  her  family,  also  sending  them  liquors,  tobacco,  and  pipes.  The 
bride  is  led  to  his  house,  pp.  235-237.  Betrothals  frequently 
take  place  before  puberty  and  sometimes  even  before  birth. 
Children  sometimes  betrothed  to  each  other  by  presentation 
of  a  few  bottles  of  rum  and  a  piece  of  cotton  cloth  to  girl's 
parents,  p.  282.  No  parents  can  force  a  daughter  to  marry. 
But  should  she  refuse  an  eligible  suitor,  she  can  no  longer  claim 
protection  and  support  from  them  and  is  ordinarily  compelled 
to  quit  their  household,  p.  285.  Marriage  contracts  are  made 
by  payment  of  from  4I  ackies  to  2  ounces  gold,  /.  e.,  from  about 


Parental  Power  73 

859.  tO;^7  5s.  to  relations  of  girl.  Among  very  poor  no  head  ox 
rum  money  may  be  paid  or  only  one  or  two  bottles  of  rum  given  the 
family.  In  such  cases  husband  generally  lives  with  wife's  family, 
giving  them  his  services,  p.  281.  A  slave-girl  is  generally  given 
to  a  bride  by  her  family  among  wealthy  classes,    p.  288. 

Yoruba-Speaking  Peoples  : 

A  new-born  child,  not  more  than  3  or  4  days  old,  sacrificed  by 
priests  4  times  a  year  to  god  Olori-merin.  Mother's  presence 
necessary,     p.  84. 

Parents  responsibte  for  crimes  of  children,  p.  177.  But  not  for 
debts,     p.    190. 

When  a  man  desires  to  marry  a  girl,  his  parents  visit  her  par- 
ents with  the  proposal.  If  accepted,  suitor  sends  a  present  of 
native  clothes  and  kola-nuts.  Bride  is  conducted  to  bridegroom's 
house  by  a  procession  of  women.  Bride's  parents  never  attend 
wedding  feast  there,  pp.  153-154.  Girls  of  better  class  are  al- 
most always  bdrothed  when  children,  frequently  when  mere  in- 
fants, the  husband  in  futuro  being  sometimes  an  adult,  sometimes 
a  boy.  p.  183.  Parents  cannot  force  a  girl  to  marry,  but  they 
can  prevent  her  marrying  one  whom  they  disapprove.  Should 
she  misbehave  with  him  they  can  shut  her  up  and  chastise  her. 
If  she  run  away  with  him,  they  usually  take  no  further  trouble, 
p,  185,  Bride-price  varies  with  rank  of  father  and  suitor. 
Regarded  as  a  compensation  to  parents  for  loss  of  daughter's 
services,  not  in  any  sense  purchase  of  a  chattel,   p.  182, 

Thompson  River  Indians  : 

After  puberty  ceremonial,  a  girl  had  to  help  her  mother  with 
cooking,  sewing,  other  household  work,  root-digging,  etc,  p.  317. 
The  custom  of  giving  children  to  friends  to  bring  up  formerly 
prevalent.  If  a  child  died,  sometimes  a  friend  of  the  parents 
who  had  many  children  would  give  them  one  of  his  a  few  years 
of  age,  to  take  the  place  of  dead  child,  and  they  were  expected  to 
rear  it  until  it  reached  age  of  maturity.  If  a  married  couple 
had  no  children  and  were  thought  highly  of  by  the  other  people, 
a  friend  or  relative  who  had  many  children  gave  them  one  of 
his  that  they  might  not  be  lonely.  Many  of  these  children,  when 
grown  up,  preferred  to  live  with  foster-parents  rather  than  with 
real  parents,     p.  308. 

Girls  often  betrothed  while  mere   infants  to   men   sometimes 


74  The  Family 

20  years  older,  p.  321.  Parents  who  refused  all  offers  of  mar- 
riage to  their  daughter  and  who  watched  her  too  closely  to  let  any 
of  her  suitors  get  a  chance  to  "  touch  "  her,  sometimes  had  morti- 
fication of  finding  that  girl  had  eloped  ;  even  if  she  were  brought 
back  by  father,  he  could  only  deliver  her  up  to  the  young  man,  as 
custom  declared  them  already  married.  If  a  man  took  a  girl 
away  by  force  it  was  different  ;  but  this  very  seldom  happened, 
and  even  elopements  rare.  Young  women  hindered  by  their  rela- 
tives from  marrying  man  they  desired,  or  made  to  marry  some  one 
they  did  not  like  have  been  known  to  commit  suicide,  pp.  324-325. 

One  of  the  modes  of  marriage  considered  most  honourable  was 
that  called  "to  place  down";  the  young  man  sent  a  relative  or 
some  other  person  with  ])resents  to  girl's  parents.  He  placed 
gifts  before  them.  A  meeting  of  girl's  nearest  kin  then  called. 
If  all  agreed  in  thinking  young  man  suitable,  girl  was  asked 
if  she  liked  him.  If  she  assented,  which  she  generally  did,  not 
caring  to  go  against  wishes  of  her  relatives,  messenger  informed 
and  suitor  invited  to  house  of  girl's  parents,  p.  322.  Again,  at 
a  public  gathering  young  man,  or,  if  bashful,  some  man  appointed 
by  his  parents,  proclaimed  before  all  the  people  that  the  suitor 
made  an  offer  of  marriage  to  a  certain  girl  and  that  these  were 
the  presents,  at  the  same  time  throwing  them  down,  or,  if  a  horse, 
leading  it  out.  If  offer  refused,  presents  returned  ;  if  accepted, 
retained.  Nominally  given  to  parents  of  girl,  they  were  never 
retained  or  used  by  them,  but  divided  among  girl's  blood  rela- 
tives, p.  322. 
Kabyles  : 

He  who  strikes  his  father  fined  one  real.  Ait  Ousammer,  etc. 
Same  penalty  on  complaint  of  parents  to  village  council,  iii.,  379. 
Ait  Fraoufen.  He  who  strikes  his  father  or  mother  or  is  dis- 
respectful towards  them  fined  10  douros.  iii.,  391.  Cheurfa,  etc. 
He  who  speaks  improperly  to  his  father  fined  |^  of  a  real.  A  rebel- 
lious child  who  threatens  to  assault  his  father  or  mother  fined  10 
oxen  if  with  a  gun,  4,  if  with  a  sword  or  axe.  iii.,  332.  If  a 
rebellious  son  who  has  left  his  father's  house  steals  and  is  fined, 
his  father  will  pay  fine.  But  if  son  has  separated  his  interests 
from  those  of  his  father,  he  will  pay  it  liimself.     iii.,  335. 

A  minor  son  may  not  marry  without  his  father's  consent  or  in 
case  of  his  death  without   consent   of  father's  representatives. 


Parental  Power  75 

The  mother  has  no  authority  in  the  matter  unless  there  is  no 
male  relative  on  the  paternal  side.  Considered  a  duty  for  the 
man  who  is  of  age  to  consult  his  relatives  about  his  marriage. 
A  girl  is  hardly  ever  consulted.  Widow  and  divorced  wife  never 
dispose  of  themselves,  but  in  most  tribes  may  twice  reject  suitors. 
The  third  time  they  must  submit  to  will  of  those  who  have  right 
to  marry  them  off.  This  right  ceases  as  soon  as  a  woman  reaches 
an  age  when  marriage  would  be  sterile.  A  widow  is  disposed  of 
either  by  her  relatives  or  the  heirs  of  her  husband,  ii.,  149-15 1. 
Ibethran,  The  first  time  a  woman  marries  she  is  sold  by  her 
relatives;  the  second  time,  she  may  dispose  of  herself,  iii.,  434. 
lu  general  ihtthdmafnth  is  not  regulated  in  amount  by  law.  ii.,153. 
Cheurfa  etc.  He  who  gives  his  daughter,sister,or  any  other  woman 
at  his  disposal  in  marriage  may  not  receive  more  than  30  reals 
for  thdmamth^  more  than  4  sda  of  cheese,  4  measures  of  oil  and 
5  reals,  on  the  day  when  the  fathd  is  tied.  If  he  receive  more, 
he  as  well  as  the  bridegroom  will  be  fined  100  reals,  and  latter 
will  die  without  male  children.  He  who  marries  a  woman,  who 
has  reached  age  when  she  should  be  consulted,  without 
consulting  her,  is  fined  5  reals,  iii.,  328.  Ait  Iraten.  In  1785  an 
action  was  brought  by  a  man  against  his  wife  who  was  repre- 
sented by  her  brother  about  ownership  of  a  cow.  After  consum- 
mation of  marriage  wife  had  gone  according  to  custom  to  visit 
her  father.  Upon  leaving  him,  he,  also  according  to  custom, 
had  given  her  a  cow.  This  animal  was  claimed  by  her  husband 
on  ground  that  it  had  been  sent  him  in  exchange  for  the  presents 
which,  according  to  custom,  the  wife  had  taken  to  her  father  on 
aforesaid  visit.  Wife's  brother  alleged  that  husband  had  received 
other  presents  in  exchange  and  that  the  cow  was  meant  for  wife. 
Latter  won  the  suit,  iii.,  450-45 1.  Ibethran.  If  a  father  or  brother 
neglect  a  daughter  or  sister  after  her  marriage,  if  he  fail  to  visit 
her  on  feast  days  or  when  she  is  confined,  if  he  fail  to  fulfil,  in 
a  word,  the  duties  of  a  good  relative,  she  may  demand  her 
thdmamth  from  him.     iii.,  434. 

Ancient  Arabs  : 

And   ...    to  your  parents  show  kindness,     .     .     .     iv.,  40. 

And  give  women  their  dowries  freely;  and  if  they  are  good 
enough  to  remit  any  of  it  themselves,  then  devour  it  with  good 
digestion  and  appetite,  iv.,  3;  also  xxxiii.,  49. 


76  The  Family 

Ancient  Hebrews  : 

Honour  thy  father  and  thy  mother  that  thy  days  may  be  long 
upon  the  land  which  the  Lord  thy  God  giveth  thee.  Ex.  xx.,  12. 
And  he  that  smiteth  his  father,  or  his  mother  shall  surely  be  put 
to  death.  lb.  xxi.,  15.  And  he  that  curseth  his  father,  or  his 
mother,  shall  surely  be  put  to  death.  lb.  xxi.,  17.  Ye  shall  fear 
every  man  his  mother  and  his  father.  Lev.  xix.,  3.  The  first- 
born of  thy  sons  shalt  thou  give  unto  me.  Ex.  xxii.,  29.  All  the 
first-born  of  thy  sons  thou  shalt  redeem.  lb.  xxxiv.,  20.  In  the 
famine  of  the  siege  that  is  predicted  as  a  consequence  of  diso- 
bedience to  God,  it  is  predicted  that  parents  will  devour  their 
children.  Deut.  xxviii.,  53-57.  Samaria  was  besieged  and 
there  was  a  great  famine.  A  certain  woman  complained 
unto  the  king  :  This  woman  said  unto  me,  Give  thy  son  that 
we  may  eat  him  to-day,  and  we  will  eat  my  son  to-morrow. 
So  we  boiled  my  son,  and  did  eat  him  :  and  I  said  unto  her  on 
the  next  day.  Give  thy  son,  that  we  may  eat  him  :  and  she  hath 
hid  her  son.  2  Kings  vi.,  28-29.  -^^  ^  woman  also  vow  a  vow 
unto  the  Lord,  and  bind  herself  by  a  bond,  being  in  her  father's 
house  in  her  youth;  and  her  father  hear  her  vow,  and  her  bond 
wherewith  she  hath  bound  her  soul,  and  her  father  shall  hold  his 
peace  at  her:  then  all  her  vows  shall  stand  and  every  bond  where- 
with she  hath  bound  her  soul  shall  stand.  But  if  her  father 
disallow  her  in  the  day  that  he  heareth;  not  any  of  her  vows,  or 
of  her  bonds  wherewith  she  hath  bound  her  soul,  shall  stand:  and 
the  Lord  shall  forgive  her,  because  her  father  disallowed  her. 
Numb.  XXX.,  3-5.  A  creditor  came  to  take  the  two  sons  of  one 
of  the  deceased  sons  of  the  prophets  to  be  bondmen.  2  Kings 
vi.,  I.  If  a  man  have  a  stubborn  and  rebellious  son,  which  will 
not  obey  the  voice  of  his  father,  or  the  voice  of  his  mother,  and 
that,  when  they  have  chastened  him,  will  not  hearken  unto  them, 
then  shall  his  father  and  his  mother  lay  hold  on  him,  and  bring 
him  out  unto  the  elders  of  his  city,  and  unto  the  gate  of  his 
place;  and  they  shall  say  unto  the  elders  of  his  city  :  This  our 
son  is  stubborn  and  rebellious,  he  will  not  obey  our  voice;  he  is 
a  glutton  and  a  drunkard.  And  all  the  men  of  his  city  shall 
stone  him  with  stones,  that  he  die:  so  shalt  thou  put  evil  away 
from  among  you;  and  all  Israel  shall  hear,  and  fear.  Deut.  xxi., 
18-21.  Cursed  be  he  that  setteth  light  by  his  father  or  his  mother. 
Jb.  xxvii.,  16. 


Parental  Power  n 

A  man  of  Gibeah  offered  his  daughter  to  some  revellers  to 
abuse  if  they  would  spare  his  guest.  Judges  xix.,  24.  Do  not 
prostitute  thy  daughter.     Lev.  xix.,  29. 

After  Samson's  marriage,  his  anger  was  kindled  because  of  his 
wife's  deceit,  and  he  went  up  to  his  father's  house.  But  Sam- 
son's wife  was  given  to  his  companion,  whom  he  had  used  as  his 
friend.  A  while  after  Samson  visited  his  wife  with  a  kid.  But 
her  father  would  not  suffer  him  to  go  in.  And  her  father  said,  I 
verily  thought  that  thou  hadst  utterly  hated  her;  therefore  I  gave 
her  to  thy  companion:  is  not  her  younger  sister  fairer  than  she  ? 
take  her,  I  pray  thee,  instead  of  her.  Judges  xiv.,  19,  20;  xv.,  1-2. 
Ibzan,  a  judge  of  Israel,  had  30  sons  and  30  daughters,  whom  he 
sent  abroad,  and  took  in  30  daughters  from  abroad  for  his  sons. 
Judges  xii.,  9.  Samson  told  his  father  and  his  mother,  ,  .  . 
I  have  seen  a  woman  in  Timnath  of  the  daughters  of  the  Phil- 
istines: now  therefore  get  her  for  me  to  wife.  They  went  down 
to  see  her.  lb.  xiv.,  2,  5.  Jacob  said:  I  will  serve  thee  [his  uncle 
Laban]  7  years  for  Rachel  thy  younger  daughter.  Jacob  served  7 
year  and  by  the  deceit  of  Laban  was  given  Leah  the  elder  daugh- 
ter. For  Laban  said:  It  must  not  be  done  so  in  our  country,  to 
give  the  younger  before  the  first-born.  Jacob  then  served  another 
7  years  for  Rachel.  Laban  gave  each  of  his  daughters  a  hand- 
maid at  their  marriage.  Gen.  xxix.,  20,  24,  26,  27,  29.  Rachel 
and  Leah  said:  Is  there  any  portion  or  inheritance  for  us  in 
our  father's  house  ?  Are  we  not  counted  of  him  strangers  ?  for 
he  has  sold  us.  lb.  xxxi.,  14-16.  And  Caleb  said,  He 
that  smiteth  Kirjath-sepher,  and  taketh  it  to  him  will  I  give 
Achsah  my  daughter  to  wife.  And  Othniel  the  son  of  Kenaz, 
Caleb's  younger  brother,  took  it,  and  he  gave  him  Achsah  his 
daughter  to  wife.  And  it  came  to  pass,  when  she  came  to  him, 
that  she  moved  him  to  ask  of  her  father  a  field:  and  she  lighted 
from  off  her  ass;  and  Caleb  said  unto  her,  What  wilt  thou  ?  and  she 
said  unto  him,  Give  me  a  blessing;  for  thou  hast  given  me  a 
south  land;  give  me  also  springs  of  water.  And  Caleb  gave  her 
the  upper  springs  and  the  nether  springs.  Joshua  xv.,  16-19. 
Babylonians: 

If  a  man  be  in  debt  and  sell  his  wife,  son,  or  daughter,  or  bind 
them  over  to  service,  for  3  years  they  shall  work  in  the  house  of 
their  purchaser  or  master  ;  in  the  fourth  year  they  shall  be  given 


'j2>  The  Family 

their  freedom.  §117.  If  a  father  devote  a  votary  or  NU  PAR 
to  a  god  and  do  not  give  her  a  dowry,  after  her  father  dies  she 
shall  receive  as  her  share  in  the  goods  of  her  father's  house  one 
third  of  the  portion  of  a  son  and  she  shall  enjoy  it  as  long  as  she 
lives.  After  her  (death),  it  belongs  to  her  brothers.  §  181.  If 
the  son  of  a  NER.  SE.  GA,  or  the  son  of  a  devotee,  say  to  his 
father  who  has  reared  him,  or  his  mother  who  has  reared  him  : 
"  My  father  thou  art  not,"  "  My  mother  thou  art  not,"  they  shall 
cut  out  his  tongue.  §  192,  If  the  son  of  a  NER.  SE.  GA,  or 
the  son  of  a  devotee,  identify  his  own  father's  house  and  hate  the 
father  who  has  reared  him  and  the  mother  who  has  reared  him 
and  go  back  to  his  father's  house,  they  shall  pluck  out  his  eye. 
§  193.  If  a  son  strike  a  father,  they  shall  cut  off  his  fingers.  § 
195.  If  a  man  take  a  young  child  as  a  son  and,  when  he  takes 
him,  he  is  rebellious  toward  his  father  and  mother  (who  have 
adopted  him),  that  adopted  son  shall  return  to  the  house  of  his 
father.  §  186.  If  the  one  seized  die  of  abuse  or  neglect  in  the 
house  of  him  who  seized  him,  the  owner  of  the  one  seized  shall 
call  the  merchant  to  account ;  and  if  it  be  a  man's  son  (that  he 
seized)  they  shall  put  his  son  to  death.  §  116.  If  a  man  strike 
a  man's  daughter  and  bring  about  a  miscarriage,  he  shall  pay  10 
shekels  of  silver  for  her  miscarriage.  §  209.  If  that  woman  die 
they  shall  put  his  daughter  to  death.     §  210. 

If  a  man  take  wives  for  his  sons  and  do  not  take  a  wife  for  his 
youngest  son,  after  the  father  dies,  when  the  brothers  divide, 
they  shall  give  from  the  goods  of  the  father's  house  to  their 
youngest  brother,  who  has  not  taken  a  wife,  money  for  a  mar- 
riage settlement  in  addition  to  his  portion  and  they  shall  enable 
him  to  take  a  wife.  §  166.  If  a  man  take  a  wife  and  she  do 
not  present  him  with  children  and  that  woman  die ;  if  his  father- 
in-law  return  to  him  the  marriage  settlement  which  that  man 
brought  to  the  house  of  his  father-in-law,  her  husband  may  not 
lay  claim  to  the  dowry  of  that  woman.  Her  dowry  belongs  to 
the  house  of  her  father.  §  163.  If  a  father  do  not  give  a  dowry 
to  his  daughter,  a  bride  or  devotee,  after  her  father  dies  she  shall 
receive  as  her  share  in  the  goods  of  her  father's  house  the  por- 
tion of  a  son,  and  she  shall  enjoy  it  as  long  as  she  lives.  After 
her  (death)  it  belongs  to  her  brothers.     §  180. 

If  a  man  do  not  present  a  dowry  to  his  daughter,  who  is  a  con- 


Parental  Power  79 

cubine,  and  do  not  give  her  to  a  husband  ;  after  her  father  dies 
her  brothers  shall  present  her  a  dowry  proportionate  to  the  for- 
tune of  her  father's  house  and  they  shall  give  her  to  a  husband. 
§  184.  If  a  father  present  a  dowry  to  his  daughter,  who  is  a 
concubine,  and  give  her  a  husband  and  write  a  deed  of  gift ; 
after  the  father  dies  she  shall  not  share  in  the  goods  of  her 
father's  house.  §  183.  If  a  man  take  a  wife  and  do  not  arrange 
with  her  the  (proper)  contracts,  that  woman  is  not  a  (legal)  wife. 
§128. 

Ancient  Hindus. 

Selling  one's  child  a  minor  offence  causing  loss  of  caste,  xi.,  62, 
67.  A  father  may  beat  a  son  who  has  committed  a  fault  with  a 
rope  or  split  bamboo,  but  on  the  back  part  of  the  body  only,  in 
order  to  correct  him.  iv.,  164;  viii.,  299-300.  "That  trouble 
and  pain  which  the  parents  undergo  on  the  birth  of  their  child- 
ren can  not  be  compensated  even  in  a  hundred  years."  The 
son  is  always  to  do  what  is  agreeable  to  his  parents.  Obedience 
to  them  is  the  best  form  of  austerity.  He  must  not  even  do 
meritorious  acts  without  their  permission.  He  shall  always  serve 
them.  To  honour  them  is  the  highest  duty,  ii.,  225-237.  A  son 
who  goes  to  law  with  his  father  or  who  quarrels  with  his  father 
or  mother  or  who  forsakes  them  without  a  sufficient  reason  must 
be  avoided,  iii.,  157,  159,  161  ;  iv.,  180,  181.  Casting  off  one's 
father  or  mother,  a  minor  offence  causing  loss  of  caste,  likewise 
to  be  fined  by  the  king  600  panas  unless  they  are  guilty  of  a 
crime  causing  loss  of  caste,  xi.,  60,  67  ;  viii.,  389.  Reprehen- 
sible is  the  son  who  does  not  protect  his  mother  after  her  hus- 
band has  died,  ix.,  3,  4.  He  who  neglects  not  his  father, 
mother,  and  guru,  even  after  he  has  become  a  householder,  will 
conquer  the  3  worlds  and,  radiant  in  body  like  a  god,  he  will  en- 
joy bliss  in  heaven,  ii.,  232-237.  For  defaming  mother  or  father 
a  fine  of  200  panas.     viii.,  275. 

No  father  who  knows  the  law  must  take  even  the  smallest 
gratuity  for  his  daughter  :  for  he  is  then  a  seller  of  his  offspring. 
When  the  relatives  do  not  appropriate  for  their  use  the  gratuity 
given,  it  is  not  a  sale  ;  in  that  case  the  gift  is  only  a  token  of 
respect  and  kindness  towards  the  maiden,  iii.,  51,  54.  Even  a 
Sudra  ought  not  to  take  a  nuptial  fee,  when  he  gives  away  his 


8o  The  Family 

daughter  :   for  he  who  takes  a  fee  sells  his  daughter,  covering  the 
transaction  by  another  name,     ix.,  98. 

Reprehensible  is  the  father  who  gives  not  his  daughter  in  mar- 
riage at  the  proper  time,  ix.,  4.  Three  years  let  a  damsel  wait 
though  she  be  marriageable  ;  but  after  that  time  let  her  choose 
for  herself  a  bridegroom  of  equal  caste  and  rank.  If,  being  not 
given  in  marriage,  she  herself  seeks  a  husband,  she  incurs  no 
guilt,  nor  does  he  whom  she  weds.  But  she  shall  not  take  with 
her  any  ornaments  given  by  her  father,  mother,  or  brothers  ;  if 
she  carries  them  away,  it  will  be  theft.  Her  husband  need  not 
pay  any  nuptial  fee  to  her  father  ;  for  the  latter  will  lose  his 
dominion  over  her  in  consequence  of  not  giving  her  in  marriage. 
ix.,  90-93.  To  maiden  sisters,  brothers  who  have  inherited  par- 
ental estate  shall  give  each  one-fourth  of  his  porticn.  A 
brother  refusing  to  do  this  will  become  an  outcast,     ix.,  118. 

Ancient  Chinese: 

In  the  time  of  duke  Ting  of  Kt\-lU,  there  occurred  the  case  of 
a  man  killing  his  father.  The  duke  said:  When  a  son  kills 
his  father,  all  who  are  in  the  house  with  him  should  kill  him  with- 
out mercy.  ...  his  house  should  be  destroyed,  the  whole 
place  should  be  laid  under  water  and  reduced  to  a  swamp,  xxvii., 
195.  When  sons  and  their  wives  have  not  been  filial  and  rever- 
ential, the  parents  should  not  be  angry  and  resentful  with  them, 
but  endeavour  to  instruct  them.  If  they  will  not  receive  instruc- 
tion, they  should  then  be  angry  with  them.  If  that  anger  do 
no  good,  they  can  then  drive  out  the  son  and  send  the  wife  away, 
xxvii.,  456.  After  the  proper  dressing  at  cock-crow  sons  and 
daughters-in-law  should  go  to  their  parents  and  parents-in-law. 
On  getting  to  where  they  are,  with  bated  breath  and  gentle  voice, 
they  should  ask  if  their  clothes  are  too  warm  or  too  cold, 
whether  they  are  ill  or  pained,  or  uncomfortable  in  any  part;  and 
if  they  be  so,  they  should  proceed  reverentially  to  stroke  and 
scratch  the  place.  ...  In  bringing  in  the  basin  for  them  to 
wash,  the  younger  will  carry  the  stand  and  the  elder  the  water; 
they  will  beg  to  be  allowed  to  pour  out  the  water,  and  when  the 
washing  is  concluded  they  will  hand  the  towel.  They  will  ask 
whether  they  want  anything,  and  then  respectfully  bring  it.  All 
this  they  will  do  with  an  appearance  of  pleasure  to  make   their 


Parental  Power  8i 

parents  feel  at  ease.  They  should  bring  food  to  them.  .  .  .  From 
the  time  that  sons  receive  an  official  appointment,  they  and  their 
father  occupy  different  parts  of  their  residence.  But  at  the 
dawn  the  son  will  pay  his  respects,  and  express  his  affection  by 
the  offer  of  pleasant  delicacies.  ...  At  sundown  the  son  will 
pay  his  evening  visit  in  the  same  v/ay.  When  the  parents  wish 
to  sit  anywhere,  the  sons  and  their  wives  should  carry  their  mats 

and  ask  in  what  direction  they  shall  lay  them What  is 

left  by  their  parents,  they  will  themselves  eat.  When  the  father 
is  dead,  and  the  mother  still  alive,  the  eldest  son  should  wait 
upon  her  at  her  meals;  and  the  wives  of  the  other  sons  will  do 
with  what  is  left  as  in  the  former  case.  .  .  .  When  with  their 
parents,  sons  and  their  wives,  when  ordered  to  do  anything, 
should  immediately  respond  and  reverently  proceed  to  do  it.  In 
going  forwards  and  backwards,  or  turning  around,  they  should  be 
careful  and  grave;  .  .  .  they  should  not  presume  to  eructate, 
sneeze,  or  cough,  to  yawn  or  stretch  themselves,  to  stand  on 
one  foot,  or  to  lean  against  anything,  or  to  look  askance. 
They  should  wash  and  mend  their  parents'  clothes.  .  .  .  Every 
five  days  they  should  prepare  tepid  water,  and  ask  them  to  take 
a  bath,  and  every  three  days  prepare  water  for  them  to  wash 
their  heads.  If  in  the  meantime  their  faces  appear  dirty,  they 
should  heat  the  water  in  which  the  rice  has  been  cleaned,  and 
ask  them  to  wash  with  it;  if  their  feet  be  dirty,  they  should  pre- 
pare hot  water,  and  ask  them  to  wash  them  with  it.  .  .  .  When 
their  parents  give  them  anything  to  eat  or  drink,  which  they  do 
not  like,  they  will  notwithstanding  taste  it  and  wait  for  their 
further  orders;  when  they  give  them  clothes,  which  are  not  to 
their  mind,  they  will  put  them  on,  and  wait  in  the  same  way. 
If  their  parents  give  them  anything  to  do,  and  then  employ 
another  to  take  their  place,  although  they  do  not  like  the 
arrangement,  they  will  in  the  meantime  give  it  into  his  hands 
and  let  him  do  it,  doing  it  again,  if  it  be  not  done  well.  .  .  . 
After  a  son  has  admonished  his  parent,  in  case  he  have  a  fault, 
if  the  parent  be  angry,  and  beat  him  till  the  blood  flows,  he 
should  not  presume  to  be  angry  and  resentful  but  be  still  more 
reverential  and  more  filial,  xxvii.,  450-457.  In  serving  his 
father  a  son  should  conceal  his  faults,  and  not  openly 
or     strongly     remonstrate     with      him     about     them,      should 


82  The  Family 

in  every  possible  way  wait  on  and  nourish  him,  without 
being  tied  to  definite  rules;  should  serve  him  laboriously 
until  his  death,  and  then  complete  the  mourning  for  him  for 
three  years.  xxvii.,  121.  When  a  father's  summons  came 
to  him,  a  son  reverently  obeyed  it  without  any  delay.  What- 
ever work  he  had  in  hand,  he  laid  aside.  He  ejected  the  meat 
that  was  in  his  mouth,  and  ran,  not  contenting  himself  with  a 
measured,  though  rapid,  pace,  xxviii.,24,  When  his  father  or 
mother  is  ill,  a  young  man  who  has  been  capped  should  not  use 
his  comb,  nor  walk  with  his  elbows  stuck  out,  nor  speak  on  idle 
topics,  nor  take  his  lute  or  cithern  in  hand.  .  .  .  He  should  not 
laugh  so  as  to  show  his  teeth,  xxvii.,  83.  In  the  service  of  his 
parents  by  a  son,  if  he  have  thrice  remonstrated  and  is  still  not 
listened  to,  he  should  follow  his  remonstrance  with  loud  crying 
and  tears,  xxvii.,  114.  There  are  three  degrees  of  filial  piety. 
The  highest  is  the  honouring  of  our  parents;  the  second  is  not 
disgracing  them;  and  the  lowest  is  the  being  able  to  support  them. 
The  body  is  that  which  has  been  transmitted  to  us  by  our  par- 
ents; dare  any  one  allow  himself  to  be  irreverent  in  the  employ- 
ment of  their  legacy  ?  If  a  man  in  his  own  house  and  privacy 
be  not  grave,  he  is  not  filial;  if  in  serving  his  ruler  he  be  not 
loyal,  he  is  not  filial;  if  in  discharging  the  duties  of  office  he  be 
not  reverent,  he  is  not  filial;  if  with  friends  he  be  not  sincere,  he 
is  not  filial;  if  on  the  field  of  battle  he  be  not  brave,  he  is  not 
filial.  If  he  fail  in  these  five  things,  the  evil  of  the  disgrace  will 
reach  his  parents; — dare  he  but  reverently  attend  to  them  ?  The 
fundam.ental  lesson  for  all  is  filial  piety.  The  practice  of  it  is 
seen  in  the  support  of  parents.  One  may  be  able  to  support 
them;  the  difficulty  is  in  doing  so  with  the  proper  reverence. 
One  may  attain  to  that  reverence;  the  difficulty  is  to  do  so 
without  self-constraint.  That  freedom  from  constraint  may  be 
realised;  the  difficulty  is  to  maintain  it  to  the  end.  When  his 
parents  are  dead,  and  the  son  carefully  watches  over  his  actions 
so  that  a  bad  name,  involving  his  parents,  shall  not  be  handed 
down,  he  may  be  said  to  be  able  to  maintain  his  piety  to  the  end. 
True  love  is  the  love  of  this;  true  propriety  is  the  doing  of  this; 
true  righteousness  is  the  rightness  of  this;  true  sincerity  is  being 
sincere  in  this;  true  strength  is  being  strong  in  this.  Joy  springs 
from  conformity  to  this;   punishments  spring  from  the  violation 


Parental  Power  83 

of  this.  .  .  .  Set  up  filial  piety,  and  it  will  fill  the  space  from 
earth  to  heaven;  spread  it  out,  and  it  will  extend  over  all  the 
ground  to  the  four  seas;  hand  it  down  to  future  ages,  and  from 
morning  to  evening  it  will  be  observed;  push  it  on  to  the  eastern 
sea,  the  western  sea,  the  southern  sea,  and  the  northern  sea,  and 
it  will  be  everywhere  the  law  for  men,  and  their  obedience  to  it 
will  be  uniform.  ...  A  man's  parents  give  birth  to  his  person  all 
complete,  and  to  return  it  to  them  all  complete  may  be  called 
filial  duty.  When  no  member  has  been  mutilated  and  no  dis- 
grace done  to  any  part  of  the  person,  it  may  be  called  complete; 
and  hence  z  superior  man  does  not  dare  to  take  the  slightest  step 
in  forgetfulness  of  his  filial  duty.  .  .  .  A  son  should  not  for- 
get his  parents  in  a  single  lifting  up  of  his  feet,  and  therefore  he 
will  walk  in  the  highway  and  not  take  a  bypath,  he  will  use  a 
boat  and  not  attempt  to  wade  through  a  stream; — not  daring, 
with  the  body  left  him  by  his  parents,  to  go  in  the  way  of  peril. 
He  should  not  forget  his  parents  in  the  utterance  of  a  single 
word,  and  therefore  an  evil  word  will  not  issue  from  his  mouth. 
Not  to  disgrace  his  person  and  not  to  cause  shame  to  his  parents 
may  be  called  filial  duty,  xxviii.,  226-229.  A  son  of  all-compre- 
hensive virtue  serves  his  parents  as  he  serves  Heaven,  and  serves 
Heaven  as  he  serves  his  parents,  xxviii.,  269.  While  his  parents 
are  alive,  a  son  will  not  have  wealth  that  he  calls  his  own.  xxvii., 
69.  A  son  and  his  wife  should  have  no  private  goods,  nor  animals, 
nor  vessels.  They  should  not  presume  to  borrow  from,  or  give 
anything  to,  another  person.  If  any  one  give  the  wife  an  article 
of  food  or  dress,  a  piece  of  cloth  or  silk,  a  handkerchief  for  her 
girdle,  an  iris  or  orchid,  she  should  receive  and  offer  it  to  her 
parents-in-law.  If  they  accept  it,  she  will  be  glad  as  if  she  were 
receiving  it  afresh.  If  they  return  it  to  her,  she  should  decline 
it,  and  if  they  do  not  allow  her  to  do  so,  she  will  take  it  as  though 
it  were  a  second  gift,  and  lay  it  by  to  wait  until  they  may  want 
it.  If  she  want  to  give  it  to  some  of  her  cousins,  she  must  ask 
leave  to  do  so,  and  that  being  granted,  she  will  give  it.  xxvii., 
458.  Son's  wives  should  serve  their  parents-in-law  as  they  would 
their  own.  xxviii.,  341.  When  her  father-in-law  is  dead,  her 
mother-in-law  takes  the  place  of  the  old  lady,  but  the  wife  of 
the  eldest  son,  on  all  occasions  of  sacrificing  and  receiving  guests, 
must  ask  her  directions  in  everything,  while  the  other  sons'  wives 


84  The  Family 

must  ask  directions  from  her.  When  her  parents-in-law  employ 
the  eldest  son's  wife,  she  should  not  be  dilatory,  unfriendly,  or 
impolite  to  the  wives  of  his  brothers  for  their  not  helping  her. 
When  the  parents-in-law  employ  any  of  them,  they  should  not 
presume  to  consider  themselves  on  an  equality  with  the  other; 
walking  side  by  side  with  her,  or  giving  their  orders  in  the  same 
way,  or  sitting  in  the  same  position  as  she.  xxvii.,  457-458.  No 
daughter-in-law,  without  being  told  to  go  to  her  own  apartment, 
should  venture  to  withdraw  from  that  of  her  parents-in-law. 
Whatever  she  is  about  to  do,  she  should  ask  leave  from  them. 
xxvii.,  458. 

If  there  were   betrothal  rights,  a  woman  became  a  wife;  and 
if  she  went  without  these,  a  concubine,     xxvii.,  479. 

Ancient  Romans  : 

The  ascendant  has  the  same  rights  in  respect  of  the  property 
of  the  manumitted  son  or  daughter,  grandson  or  grand- 
daughter, as  the  patron  has  over  the  property  of  his  freedman. 
J.  i.,  xii.^  6.  Absolute  power  of  the  father  over  his  legitimate  child- 
ren throughout  their  life,  jus  vHcb  necis  ( involving  the  right 
of  imprisoning,  flogging,  chaining,  selling,  or  killing  them,  how- 
ever exalted  their  position  may  be).  If  a  father  sells  his  son 
three  times,  the  son  shall  be  free  from  the  power  of  the  father. 
Table  IV.  Our  children  begotten  in  lawful  marriage  are 
in  our  power.  G.  1.,  55  \J.  i.,  ix.  So,  also,  is  the  son  born  to  your 
son  and  to  his  wife,  .  .  .  and  your  great-grandson  and  great- 
granddaughter  and  other  descendants  are  equally  in  your  power. 
But  a  child  born  of  your  daughter  is  not  in  your  power,  but  in 
the  power  of  his  father.  J.  i.,  ix.  All  children  who  are  in  the 
power  of  their  ascendant  may  be  sold  by  the  very  same  formal 
process  by  which  slaves  are  sold.  These  formal  sales  are  usually 
only  gone  through  by  ascendants  and  fictitious  purchasers  when 
they  desire  to  release  the  persons  so  sold  from  their  power  .  .  . 
It  is  necessary  that  he  who  receives  by  way  of  formal  transfer 
should  take  hold  of  the  thing  itself  which  is  given  him  in  this 
solemn  mode,  and  hence,  also,  it  is  called  "  mancipatio,"  because 
the  thing  is  taken  by  the  hand  G.  i.,  117,  iiSa,  121  ;  /.  i.,  xL 
The  father  sells  his  son  to  some  person  who  releases  him  from 
power  by  the  process  of  fictitious  vindication,  by  which  means 


Parental  Power  85 

the  son  falls  again  into  the  power  of  his  father,  who  sells  his  son 
again  either  to  the  same  person  or  to  others,  but  usually  to  the 
same  person,  and  this  person  again  releases  the  son  from  power 
by  the  process  of  fictitious  vindication,  and  then  when  the  son 
is  again  brought  into  the  power  of  the  father,  the  latter  sells 
him  a  third  time,  either  to  the  same  person  or  to  another,  but 
usually  to  the  same  person,  and  by  this  last  sale  the  son  ceases 
to  be  in  the  power  of  the  father,  although  he  is  not  yet  released 
from  power,  but  is  in  the  condition  of  a  person  in  a  state  of 
bondage.  G.  i.,  132.  Emancipation  also  took  place  by  imperial 
rescript.  We,  in  our  forethought,  have  reformed  this  matter  by  a 
constitution,  so  that  the  old  fictitious  process  being  done  away 
with,  ascendants  go  at  once  before  the  competent  judges  and 
magistrates,  and  free  from  their  power  their  sons  and  daugh- 
ters. J.  i.,  xii.,  6.  If  the  emancipated  person  be  under  the  age 
of  puberty,  the  ascendant,  as  the  result  of  the  emancipation,  ac- 
quires the  tutorship,  Jb.  Adoption  also  takes  place  through  a 
formal  sale.  G.  i.,  134  and  J.  i.,  xti.,  8.  Children,  actual  or 
adopted,  have  scarcely  any  means  of  compelling  an  ascendant  to 
release  them  from  his  power.  J.  i.,  xti.,  10.  It  is  not  lawful 
to  offer  any  indignity  to  those  whom  we  have  in  our  bondage, 
otherwise  we  are  liable  to  an  action  for  outrage —  indeed,  men  are 
not  kept  long  in  this  state,  but,  for  form's  sake,  are  usually  so 
only  for  a  moment,  unless  they  have  been  formally  surrendered 
by  their  ascendant  on  account  of  damage  caused  by  them.  G.  i., 
141.  The  wrongful  acts  of  sons  in  power  or  of  slaves,  as,  for  ex- 
ample, if  they  are  guilty  of  theft,  or  commit  an  outrage,  give  rise 
to  noxal  actions,  in  which  it  is  lawful  for  the  father  or  master 
either  to  pay  the  estimated  damages  or  to  abandon  him  by  way 
of  reparation,  for  it  was  unjust  that  their  wrongful  acts  should 
involve  their  ascendants  or  masters  in  greater  loss  than  the  value 
of  their  persons.  G.,  iv.,  75.  (  The  parallel  passage  in  Justinian 
refers  only  to  slaves.)  Formerly,  whatever  our  emancipated  child- 
ren of  both  sexes  acquired,  excepting,  of  course,  property  gained 
in  war,  was  acquired  for  the  benefit  of  their  parents.  So  that 
that  which  an  ascendant  had  acquired  through  one  child  he  could 
give,  or  sell,  or  a]  ply  in  any  way  he  pleased  for  the  benefit  of 
another  child,  or  a  stranger.  As  this  appeared  very  harsh  to  us 
we  have  relieved  the  children  and  yet  reserved  for  the  ascendants 


86  The  Family 

their  due.  All  which  comes  through  the  property  of  the  father 
shall,  according  to  the  old  rule,  be  acquired  entirely  for  the  as- 
cendant's benefit  (  for  what  objection  can  be  made  to  that  which 
conies  from  the  father  returning  to  him?).  But  whatever  the 
son  in  power  acquires  in  any  other  way,  of  this  the  father  shall 
have  the  use  and  enjoyment,  but  the  son  shall  retain  the  owner- 
ship. Formerly  at  emancipation  a  father  retained  one-third  of 
the  property.  Now  the  father  retains  the  usufruct  of  one-half. 
J.  ii.,  /.v.,  1-2.  A  son,  though  he  become  a  soldier,  a  senator,  or  a 
consul,  still  remains  in  the  power  of  his  father,  for  neither  mili- 
tary service  nor  consular  dignity  can  free  the  son  from  power. 
But,  by  our  constitution,  the  supreme  dignity  of  the  patriciate 
frees  the  son  from  the  power  of  his  father  immediately  the  im- 
perial patent  is  conferred,  for  who  could  endure  that  any  father 
should  be  able  by  emancipation  to  release  his  son  from  the 
thraldom  of  his  power,  and  yet  the  Imperial  Majesty  should  not 
be  able  to  withdraw  from  the  power  of  another  one  selected  to 
rank  as  a  father,    J.  i.,  xii.^  4. 

The  consent  of  an  ascendant  in  whose  power  a  male  or  a 
female  is,  is  necessary  to  marriage.    J.  i.,  x. 

French: 

371.  A  child  of  all  ages  owes  honour  and  respect  to  his  father 
and  mother.  372.  He  remains  under  their  authority  until  his  ma- 
jority or  his  emancipation.  373.  The  father  alone  exercises  this 
authority  during  the  marriage.  374.  A  child  cannot  leave  his 
father's  house  without  latter's  consent,  unless  it  be  to  enlist  vol- 
untarily after  he  has  reached  the  full  age  of  18.  375.  A  father, 
who,  for  very  serious  reasons,  is  displeased  with  conduct  of  a 
child,  shall  have  the  following  means  to  correct  him.  376.  If 
child  has  not  yet  commenced  his  sixteenth  year,  father  can  have 
him  incarcerated  during  a  period  not  exceeding  one  month  :  for 
that  purpose  the  Presiding  Justice  of  the  Tribunal  of  the  Dis- 
trict must  at  his  request  issue  an  order  of  arrest.  377.  From 
beginning  of  child's  sixteenth  year,  until  his  majority  or  emanci- 
pation, father  can  only  ask  that  he  be  incarcerated  for  6  months 
at  the  utmost :  He  shall  apply  to  the  Presiding  Justice  of  said 
Tribunal,  who,  after  having  conferred  with  the  King's  Attorney 
(Republic's  Attorney),  shall  issue  an  order  of  arrest  or  refuse  it, 


Parental  Power  Sy 

and  may  in  former  case  reduce  time  of  incarceration  asked  for 
by  father.  378.  Father  shall  only  be  bound  to  sign  an  under- 
taking to  pay  all  expenses  and  to  furnish  proper  support.  379. 
Father  is  always  at  liberty  to  reduce  time  of  incarceration 
ordered  or  applied  for  by  him.  If  after  his  liberation,  child 
again  falls  back  into  bad  habits,  the  incarceration  can  be  ordered 
again.  .  .  .  381,  A  mother  who  survives,  and  has  not  remarried, 
can  only  have  a  child  incarcerated  with  the  assistance  of  the  two 
nearest  paternal  relatives.  382.  When  the  child  has  personal 
property,  or  a  trade,  his  incarceration  can  only  take  place  upon 
an  application  in  the  manner  provided  for  by  article  377,  even 
if  the  child  is  less  than  sixteen  years  of  age.  A  child  who  is  in- 
carcerated can  address  a  brief  to  Attorney-General  of  Royal 
Court  (Court  of  Appeals).  Latter  shall  make  inquiries  through 
King's  Attorney  (Republic's  Attorney)  of  the  Tribunal  of  First 
Instance,  and  shall  make  his  report  to  the  Presiding  Justice  of 
the  Royal  Court  (Court  of  Appeals),  who,  after  giving  notice  to 
the  father  and  having  gathered  full  information,  can  cancel  or 
amend  the  order  made  by  the  Presiding  Justice  of  the  Tribunal 
of  First  Instance.  205.  (Amended  by  Law  of  9th  of  March, 
1 89 1.)  Children  owe  support  to  their  father  and  mother  and 
other  ascendants  who  are  in  want. 

146.  There  is  no  marriage  when  there  is  no  consent.  148.  A 
son  who  has  not  reached  full  age  of  25,  and  a  daughter  the  full  age 
of  21,  cannot  contract  marriage  without  consent  of  father  and 
mother  :  in  case  of  disagreement  the  consent  of  the  father  is  suf- 
ficient. 151.  After  aforesaid  age  children  shall  be  bound  to  ask,  by 
a  respectful  and  formal  summons,  for  advice  of  father  and  mother, 
or  of  grandfathers  and  grandmothers  if  father  and  mother  are 
dead,  or  if  it  is  impossible  for  them  to  express  their  wish.  152. 
From  21  to  25  in  case  of  daughters,  the  respectful  summons  shall 
be  renewed  twice  more  from  month  to  month  ;  and  one  month 
after  third  summons  the  celebration  of  the  marriage  can  take 
place.  153.  After  30,  if  there  is  no  consent,  the  marriagecan  take 
place  one  month  after  one  respectful  summons.  156,  157.  Civil 
officers  not  complying  with  these  rules  are  subject  to  a  fine  and 
to  imprisonment  for  not  less  than  6  months  where  parties  are 
under  21  and  25  and  for  not  less  than  one  month  where  no 
summons  has  been  issued.     204.    A  child  has  no  claim  against 


88  The  Family 

his  father  and  mother  for  his  establishment  by  marriage  or 
otherwise.  1440.  Every  person  who  gives  a  dowry  is  obliged 
to  guarantee  it,  and  the  interest  runs  from  day  of  marriage,  even 
if  time  is  allowed  for  payment,  unless  there  is  some  stipulation 
to  the  contrary. 

People  of  United  States: 

Father  has  paramount  right  of  custody.  May  be  forfeited  by 
misconduct.  Primary  object  of  custody  is  to  secure  welfare  of 
child  and  not  special  parental  claims.  §  248.  State  may  assume 
care  and  custody  of  neglected  children.  §  256.  Cruel  and  merci- 
less punishment  is  an  indictable  offence,  but  the  law  reluctantly 
interferes  except  in  cases  of  permanent  injury  or  malicious  in- 
fliction. §  244,  N.  3.  Father  entitled  to  child's  labour  and  serv- 
ices until  latter's  majority  or  marriage  providing  he  supports 
child  ;  but  father  not  obliged  to  claim  his  child's  earnings  for 
benefit  of  his  own  creditors  where  he  has  not  objected  to  child 
contracting  on  his  own  account ;  payment  to  child  and  not  to  the 
parent  is  a  sufficient  discharge.  §§252,  252a.  In  common  law  a 
mother  has  no  right  to  services  and  earnings  of  a  minor  child  ; 
but  there  is  a  tendency  to  grant  her  rights  in  these  respects 
especially  if  she  be  a  widow  and  have  borne  burden  of  child's 
support.  §  254.  The  courts  are  reluctant  to  grant  compensation 
for  services  of  adult  offspring  living  at  home  unless  an  explicit, 
agreement  has  been  made.  §269.  In  case  of  injury  to  a  child  a 
parent  may  usually  claim  indemnity  for  loss  of  his  services,  not 
merely  during  that  part  of  his  minority  when  he  is  capable  of 
rendering  service.  §258.  A  parent  may  maintain  an  action  for 
the  seduction  of  his  daughter  on  same  principle.  And  here 
it  is  not  necessary  for  daughter  to  be  under  age  providing  a 
relationship  of  servant  and  master  exists  between  her  and  her 
father.  Evidence  of  service  may  be  very  slight,  making  tea, 
milking  cows,  etc.  Tendency  in  some  States  to  enable  a  woman 
to  sue  directly  for  her  own  seduction  and  consequent  injury. 
§§261,  261a.  Father  is  not  liable  for  acts  of  child  committed 
without  his  knowledge,  consent,  participation,  or  sanction,  and 
not  in  the  course  of  his  employment  of  child.  §  263.  Marriage 
of  minors  without  consent  of  parent  or  guardian  forbidden,  but 
such  marriage  remains  valid.     In  some  States  this  consent  is  a 


Parental  Power  89 

prerequisite  to  granting  the  marriage  license.  §  30.  A  parent 
cannot  sue  for  enticing  his  child  into  a  marriage  against  parental 
consent.     §  260. 


LECTURE   V 

HOME    EDUCATION    AND    STAGES    OF    PARENTHOOD 

Three  stages  of       TTHERE  sltg  at  IcEst  thrcc  broad  stages  in  the  rela- 
''*'^"   °  A       tionship  between   parents  and  offspring  which 

should  be  noted  as  a  basis  for  classification  of  facts  of 
home  education.  The  economic  and  cultural  stages  in 
general  to  which  these  types  of  parenthood  more  or 
less  correspond  we  shall  consider  more  fully  later. 
First  stage  In  the  first  stage,  lactation  is  more  or  less  prolonged, 

and  childhood  and  youth  are    comparatively   short. 
Parents  have  more  or  less  absolute  power  over  off- 
spring, but  this  lasts  only  during  the  period  of  nat- 
ural dependence.     Sympathetic  relations  of  more  or 
less  mutual  affection  and  help   may  be  maintained, 
however,  after  filial  dependence  ceases.^      Here  par- 
ental  mastery  must  be  distinguished   from  parental 
ownership,    for   the   idea    of  property  in    general   is 
but  little   undeveloped.     There  is   little  if  any  cap- 
characterised  by      ital  either  in  human  beings  or  in  other  forms.     This 
'^Zi!Sn^''  stage  is  characterised  both  by  parental  affection  and 
encc  and  neglect       indulgence  and  by  parental  indifference  and  neglect. 
In  either  case  the  child  is  subject  to  abuse  from  out- 
NodiscipHae  bursts  of  parental  temper;  but  there  is  no  attempt  to 

discipline  him  for  his  own  sake.      He  learns  the  arts 
of  subsistence  throucjh  imitation. 

'  Moreover  in  most  ethnic  groups  the  elder  men  and  women,  but  particu- 
larly the  men,  are  much  respected  and  this  group  attitude  towards  old  age 
probably  affects  filial  relations.  An  apparent  exception  is  the  practice  of  put- 
ting old  parents  to  death,  but  this  is  often  thought  to  be  for  their  good. 

go 


Home  Education  and  Parenthood        91 

Let  us  note  at  this  point,  parenthetically,  the  im-  Economic  training 
portant  part  played  by   imitation   throughout   home  ^^"'""^^  J'^itation 
education.       Imitation    both    unconscious    and    con- R^ie  of  imitation  in 
scious  \s  par  excellence  the  educational  method  of  the 
family.     It  is  plain  that  a  considerable  part  of  the 
adaptation  of  living  beings  to  their  environment,  i.e.y 
of  beings  that  are  born  plastic,  is  passed  on  from  gen- 
eration to  generation  through  imitation.     Were  this 
not  so,  much  if  not  all  of  the  road  traversed  by  one 
generation    would    have    to    be    retravelled   by   the 
next  generation  from  the  very  beginning  and  without 
short-cuts}   Consequently  there  would  be  little  chance  its  relation  to 
for  the  novel   adaptation,   the  propitious    individual  *°  ""  "*  ^"'^tion 
variation,  that  constitutes  progress.     So  important  is 
the  family  task  of  adapting  the  individual  to  his  en- 
vironment through  imitation  that  it  seems  as  if  in 
undeveloped  types  of  family  the  advantages  of  plas-  Advantages  of 
ticity  at  birth  and  prolonged  infancy  cannot  be  fully  n'ot^fuuTreluled' 
availed  of.      It  is  notoriously  in  the  family  that  in-  initiative discour- 

,..,,....  .  .  •        T  IT  aged  in  undeveloped 

dividual  initiative  or  invention  is  discouraged.      It  is  family  types 

only  the  most  advanced  type  of  family  that  educates 

the  child  in  such  a  way  that  the  necessary  adaptation 

of  the  individual  to  his  environment  is  secured,  while,  Attitude  towards 

...  individual  variation 

at  the  same  time,  the  capacity  for  individual  variation  in  higher  types  of 
is  fostered  and  the  advantage  of  the  prolongation  of  ^""'^ 
infancy  fully  realised.^     Although  imitation   training 
in  family  association  is  woven  into  the  pettiest  details 

.  .  •       11  11    1      1   •  r  Unconscious  and 

of  daily  life,  practically  all  habits  of  thought  or  con-  conscious  imitation 
duct  being  matter  of  imitation,  this  training  is  for  the 

'  If,  according  to  the  theory  of  recapitulation,  the  child  passes  through  the 
experience  of  the  human  race,  as  well  as  through  that  of  animal  ancestors,  he 
is  greatly  aided,  in  the  latter  part  of  his  course,  by  his  faculty  for  imitation. 

^  Cp.  p.  46  for  primitive  man's  impatience  of  physical  variation. 


92 


The  Family 


Imitation  conscious 
in  economic 
training 


Hereditary 
occupations 


As   forms  of  inher- 
ited property 

Second  stage 


Children  valuable 
chattels 


Discipline  from  an 
utilitarian  stand- 
point 


Training  for  the 
sake  of  the  group 


Filial  subordination 
at  times  during  life- 
time of  parent 

After  the  death  of 
parents 


most  part  unconscious  on  the  part  of  both  parents 
and  offspring.  Imitation  may,  of  course,  become 
conscious  along  all  lines  of  activity ;  but  it  is  in  the 
teaching  and  training  of  household  or  field  or  forest 
arts  or  crafts  that  it  is  most  apt  to  be  deliberate 
or  systematic.  Here  child-labour  is  child-training. 
Hereditary  occupations  are  often,  where  the  division 
of  labour  in  general  has  arisen,  the  outcome  of  this  fa- 
milial economic  training.  The  son  is  apprenticed  to 
his  father  and  from  him  learns  the  special  craft  of 
which  he  is  master.  Let  us  note,  incidentally,  that 
this  craft  may  be  of  a  secret  or  monopolistic  character 
and  that  it  is  then  inherited  as  a  form  of  private 
property. 

To  return  to  our  classification.  In  the  second 
stage  of  relationship  between  parent  and  child,  im- 
maturity is  prolonged  with  the  need  of  adaptation  to 
a  more  complex  environment.  Economic  ideas  are 
more  or  less  well  developed.  Offspring  are  forms  of 
capital.  Child-labour  is  valuable  and  marriage  by 
purchase  prevails.  Child-discipline  is  well  developed. 
It  may  even  begin  in  infancy  in  attempts  to  harden 
the  infant  and  to  regulate  his  habits.  Discipline 
exists  primarily,  however,  to  make  the  child  useful 
to  his  parents.  Filial  obedience  and  service  are  also 
recognised,  however,  to  a  certain  extent,  as  social 
virtues  necessary  to  the  cohesion  of  the  group.  It 
may  therefore  be  expected  of  parents  to  give  this 
training  to  their  children  for  the  sake  of  the  group. 
Filial  subordination  may  last  throughout  the  life-time 
of  the  parent,  particularly,  when  the  latter  is  the  head 
of  the  kinsfolk  group.  It  frequently  lasts  even  after 
the  death  of  parents  ;  for  in  this  stage  ancestor-worship 


Home  Education  and  Parenthood         93 

Is  as  a  rule  well  developed.'     As  we  shall  see  later, 

the    married    daughter  is  usually,   in  thoroughgoing 

marriage  by  purchase,  cut  off  from  her  own  family. 

Under   these    circumstances  she  becomes  as  a  rule  subservience  to 

subservient  to  her  husband's  parents,  instead  of  her 

own. 

The  third  stage  is  distinguished  from  the  others  Third  stage 
by  the  fact  that  here,  for  the  first  time,  the  child  is 
educated  and  provided  for  primarily  for  his  own  sake.  Education  primarily 
This  is  an  extremely  significant  fact  in  the  history  of 
the  family  and  of  civilisation.  For  the  first  time, 
progressive  individual  variations  may  be  —  even  here 
they  are  not  always  —  fully  encouraged.  In  this 
stage,  the  period  of  immaturity  is  long,  but  at  its 
close  offspring  become  cusiomarily,  as  in  the  first 
stage,  completely  independent  of  parents. 

The   principle   of  equality  of   inheritance  by  off-  inheritance  by 
spring  is  or  tends  to  be  established  in  the  third  stage  °'^^p""s 
of  parenthood.^     Daughters  inherit  as  well  as  sons, 
and  sons  inherit  equally  or,  if  unequally,  the  inequal- 
ity is  due  to  personal  needs   or  qualifications  more 
than  to  external    circumstances.     As  we  shall  have  By  daughters 
occasion  to  see  later,  as  long  as  a  proprietary  char- 
acter attaches  to  women,  they  are  naturally,  either  as 
daughters  or  wives,  more  or  less  excluded  from  inher- 
itance.    They  are  rather  inherited.     When  they  do 
inherit,  frequently  implicit  in  the  custom  is  the  idea 
that  they  are  conveyers  of   family  property,  so   to 
speak.     A  clear  expression  of   this  idea  is  the   en-  Marriage  .r 
dogamous  marriage  restriction  frequently  put  upon 

'  See  p.  301. 

*  See  pp.  273-4  for  tendencies  against  individual  property  holding  in  ethnic  or 
gentile  society. 


94 


The  Family 


heiresses.  In  unequal  inheritance  between  sons  and 
daughters,  it  may  be  customary  for  the  woman  to  in- 
herit only  in  the  absence  of  men.  Again  she  may 
only  receive  a  smaller  portion  or  she  may  have  the 
enjoyment  only  of  the  inheritance  during  her  lifetime 
or  she  may  share  in  the  personal  and  be  excluded 
Inheritance  by  sons  froui  the  real  property.  Inequality  of  inheritance  by 
sons  may  be  based  on  order  of  birth  or  on  the  con- 
jugal status  of  the  mother.  In  the  first  case,  the 
eldest  son  (primogeniture),  the  youngest  son  (bor- 
ough-English),  or  more  infrequently,  a  son  in  some 
other  arbitrary  position  in  order  of  birth  may  inherit. 
In  the  second  case,  the  son  of  the  principal  wife  may 
inherit  irrespective  of  the  order  of  birth.  In  all  cases 
the  exclusion  of  the  other  sons  may  be  only  partial 
or  it  may  be  total.  Cases  of  equality  of  inheritance 
(gavel-kind)  by  sons  seem  to  occur  under  all  systems 
of  family  organisation,  nevertheless,  taken  with  other 
facts,  the  custom  is  one  of  the  criteria  of  highly 
developed  parenthood.  Sons  or  daughters  may  be 
disinherited  at  parental  pleasure  or  only  for  stated 
offences  and  by  a  prescribed  procedure.  In  consider- 
ing descent  and  kinship  groups  we  shall  return  to  the 
subject  of  inheritance  in  other  connections. 

These  stages  of  parenthood  are  not  mutually  ex- 
clusive, i.  e.,  educational  methods  characteristic  of  one 
stage  will  be  found  in  groups  where  parenthood  is  on 
the  whole  in  another  staofe.  Practices  for  the  cfood 
of  offspring  solely  or  combined  with  those  for  the 
good  of  parents  or  group  occur  in  all  stages.  In  the 
same  community  different  families  may  be  in  differ- 
ent stages,  or  in  the  same  family  methods  belonging 
to  different  stages  may  exist  side  by  side,  the  method 


Primogeniture 
Bo  rough-English 


Dependent  upon 
position  of  mother 


Gavel-kind 


Disinheritance 


Mixed  stages  of 
traits 


Home  Education  and  Parenthood        95 

of  one  parent  differing  from  that  of  the  other,  or  the 
same  parent  practising  different  methods. 

In  this  connection  we  should  note  certain  customs  customs  indicative 
which  are  more  or  less  peculiar  to  the  first  two  stages,  sympa*th*y 
but  which  are,  nevertheless,  either  indicative  of  or 
likely  to  lead  to  parental  sympathy.^  To  be  con- 
sidered from  this  point  of  view  are  various  kinds  of 
birth  and  pregnancy  taboos,  including  sexual  abstinence 
during  pregnancy  or  lactation  period,  customs  of 
bodily  mutilation  and  couvade  practices,  teknonymy, 
ceremonial  mourning  at  the  death  of  offspring,  and  the 
performance  in  both  the  early  and  later  life  of  the  child 
of  innumerable  good-luck-bringing  practices. 

During  pregnancy  and  birth  mother  and  child  are,  pregnancyand birth 
in  primitive  thought,  particularly  subject  to  the  work- 
ing of  both  malevolent  and  benevolent  spirits.  A 
great  variety  of  charms  is  in  vogue  to  ward  off  the 
influence  of  the  evil  and  attract  that  of  the  good 
spirits.  Allied  to  such  charms  as  an  expression  of 
the  same  kind  of  animistic^  thought  is  the  practice  of 
couvade. 

Couvade  is  the  name  given  to  various  lying-in  prac-  couvade 
tices  through  which  at  child-birth  the  father  imitates 
or  substitutes  himself  for  the  mother.  He  may  for  a 
stated  time  refrain  from  all  exercise,  from  certain  kinds 
of  food,  from  exposure,  etc.,  or  he  may  actually  take  to 
his  hammock,  mat,  or  bed.  Special  taboos  may  also 
affect  the  father  during  the  whole  period  of  the  moth- 
er's pregnancy  or  lactation.  He  may  have  to  avoid 
dangerous  forms  of  hunting  or  fighting,  or  he  may  not 

'  This  does  not  mean  that  they  necessarily  originated  in  parental  sympathy. 
*  See  p. 


g6  The  Family- 

venture  far  on  the  water.  One  or  both  parents^  may 
have  to  avoid  eating  either,  during  the  mother's  preg- 
nancy or  during  the  lactation  period,  the  flesh  or  parts 
of  the  flesh  of  certain  animals,  of  animals  killed  in 
special  ways  or  by  special  persons,  or  of  pregnant  ani- 
mals. Parental  conduct  during  pregnancy  and  child- 
birth is  not  only  thought  to  efl"ect  the  child's  health  or 
physical  development;  it  is  also  thought  to  influence  his 
mind  or  character.  For  this  reason  certain  animals, 
for  example,  are  not  eaten,  otherwise  the  child  would 
come  by  their  undesirable  traits,  by  cowardice,  stu- 
pidity, etc.  Again,  should  the  mother  cry  out  in 
child-birth,  the  child  would  be  lacking  in  endurance. 
Couvade  or  sy77ipathetic  practices  are  sometimes  con- 
sexuai  abstinence     fiucd  to  the  birth  of  the  fiTst  chiM.      Unlike  the  taboos 

during       pregnancy  .  ■,  -I'^i  ,_•  r  li^* 

and  lactation  period  we  have  been  considermg,  the  practice  ot  sexual  absti- 
nence during  pregnancy  and  lactation,  to  which  we 
have  already  referred  in  other  connections,  is  some- 
times (  in  the  case  of  abstinence  during  lactation,  at  any 
rate)  based  on  observation  of  fact.  During  pregnancy 
the  milk  supply  either  ceases  or  is  much  impoverished. 
The  occurrence  of  pregnancy,  therefore,  during  the 
period  when  an  infant  is  still  dependent  upon  mother's 
milk  is  decidedly  injurious.'^ 

Taboo  practices  by  the  parents  for  the  good  of  off- 
spring likewise  occur  at  later  periods  in  the  child's  life. 
Forms  of  fasting  may  be  observed  when  the  child  is  ill 
or  at  initiation  or  marriage.     Fasting  may  also  be  prac- 

'  The  original  term  applied  only  to  the  father,  but  as  a  matter  of  fact,  it  is 
difficult,  if  not  impossible,  to  differentiate  between  the  parents  in  many  cases  of 
the  performance  of  this  form  of  sympathetic  magic. 

'  This  restriction  is  also  of  interest  inasmuch  as  it  is  also,  at  times,  an  ex- 
pression of  solicitude  for  the  mother.  It  is  also  an  expression  of  a  type  of  self- 
control  which  plays  a  very  important  part  in  social  development. 


Mourning   practices 


Home  Education  and  Parenthood        97 

tised  after  the  death  of  a  child.     Portions  of  the  body  of 
a  deceased  child  or  articles  of  its  clothing,  etc.,  may  be 
preserved  or  carried  about  by  the  parents.     Special 
clothes  or  badges,  etc.,  may  be  worn  by  the  parents  or 
periods  of  seclusion  observed  by  them.     Sometimes 
these  mourning  practices  for  offspring  are  similar  to 
the   general  mourning  rites  or  taboos  prevailing  in  a 
given  group  ;  sometimes  they  appear,  on  the  other 
hand,  to  have  a  special  significance.     The   naming  of  Teknonymy 
children  is  always  a  significant  fact.     As  we  shall  see 
later,  it  is  commonly  indicative  of  the  way  in  which 
descent  is  reckoned.     In  the  so-called  custom  of  tek- 
nonymy, however,  instead  of  offspring  receiving  names 
from    parents,   parents   are    named    after    offspring. 
(  Sometimes  the  parents  of  a  new-born  child  are  given 
a  status  name  expressive  of  the  fact.)     Again  the  Auspicious  nam.s 
giving  of  particularly  auspicious  names  to  offspring, 
saint  or  hero  names,  for  example,  points  to  parental 
sympathy. 

Customs  of  mutilating  the  body  of  the  infant  or  Mutilation  customi 
child  are  widespread.  Amongthem  are  boring  the  nose, 
lips,  ears,  and  cheeks,  flattening  the  nose,  deforming 
the  skull,  feet,  fingers,  etc.,  knocking  out  or  sharp- 
ening the  teeth,  the  excision,  circumcision,  or  infibula- 
tion  of  the  external  male  or  female  generative  organs, 
tattooing,  scarification,  etc.  Cutting  the  hair  or  nails 
may  also  be  done  ceremonially.  There  is  much  uncer- 
tainty about  the  origins  of  these  customs;  but  whatever 
their  origins,  they  are  always  thought  to  be  of  benefit 
in  some  way  or  other  to  the  child  upon  whom  they 
are  practised.  Sometimes  they  aim  to  improve  his  or 
her  appearance.  Sometimes,  as  in  the  case  of  opera- 
tions upon  the  sex  organs,  they  are  thought  of  as  a 


9^  The  Family 

necessary  preparation  for  marriage,  or,  as  a  means  of 
complying  with  a  social  requirement  of  chastity  before 
marriage.  Again  they  may  be,  particularly  when  they 
occur  at  initiation,  distinctly  rites  of  group  member- 
ship and  may  often  have  to  be  considered  as  group 
or  kinship,  rather  than  parental,  functions.  Unfortu- 
nately the  character  of  the  actors  in  the  ceremonial, 
whether  parents,  clansmen,  group  elders,  etc.,  is  fre- 
quently unnoted  by  ethnographers. 

Lucky  practices  Bcsidcs  the  aforesaid  customs,  a  great  variety  of 

beliefs,  many  of  which  are  plainly  animistic,  are  held 
and  acted  upon  by  parents,  or  carried  out  by  their 
agents  for  the  good  of  offspring.  Horoscopes  are 
cast,  amulets  worn,  religious  sacrifices  made,  and  trees 
planted  for  the  child  ;  the  child's  hair,  nails,  skin, 
clothes,  etc.,  are  disposed  of  after  a  prescribed  fash- 
ion. The  child  is  fed,  decorated,  sung  to,  anointed, 
besprinkled,  put  to  sleep,  held,  washed,  exercised,  doc- 
tored, etc.,  in  propitious  or  evil-deterrent  ways. 

Differences  in  Home  education  differs    according  to  sex.      It  is 

education  of  boys         .  r     11  i  iTr 

and  girls  important    to    note   carefully  the    dirlerent   ways   m 

which  boys  and  girls  are  brought  up,  as  this  differ- 
entiation has  a  marked  influence  upon  the  family  as 
well  as  upon  the  social  organisation  in  general.  It 
is  also  important  to  note  the  respective  parts  played 
by  father  and  mother  in  home  education.  After  a 
certain  age,  anywhere  from  five  to  twelve,  the  daily 
association  of  boys  with  their  mothers  and  sisters 
commonly  lessens  or  ceases  altogether  and  they  begin 
to  accompany  their  fathers.     Habitual  avoidance  of 

Avoidance  of  female  niothers  or  sisters  may  even  be  required  at  a  certain 

relatives  '  T- 

age.i 

'  For  a  fuller  discussion  of  the  custom  of  avoidance  see  p.  170. 


Home  Education  and  Parenthood         99 

Here,  as  before,  expressions  of  sympathy  and  edu-  ftherthan^' a*renu' 
cational  efforts  on  the  part  of  parents  may  be  sup- 
plemented or  substituted  for  by  a  kinsfolk  circle 
under  ethnic  organisation  or  by  State,  Church,  guild, 
or  philanthropic  society  under  civil  organisation;  it 
is  important  to  note  in  the  study  of  any  society  in 
what  ways  parental  obligations  of  education  are 
shared  in  by  other  agents. 

NOTE    A 

Parental  Affection,  Indulgence,  Neglect,  etc. 

(In  primitive  groups)  Steinmetz,  Das  Verhdltnis  zwischen 
Eliern  und  Kindern  bei  den  Naturvolken  in  Zeitschrift  fur 
Socialwissenschaft,  1898,  pp.  607-631 

lb.,  Ploss,  Das  Kind,  ii.,  333-345- 

(Among   lower   economic   classes   in   civilisation)    Wolf, 

Das  Verhdltnis  von  Eltern  und  Kindern  bei  den  Landvolk  in 
Deutschland  va.  Zt.  f.  Soc,  1898,  pp.  715-722. 

(/<5.)  Booth,  Life  and  Labour  in  London,  ix.,  435 ;  x.,  42-43. 

(/<^.,  parental  neglect)  Report  of  Lnter-Departmental  Com- 
mittee on  Physical  Deterioration,  London,  1904,  pp.  47-57. 

Imitation-Training  and  the  Adaptation  of  Offspring  to 
Environment. 

Tarda,  The  Laws  of  Lmitation,  New  York,  1903,  chaps. 
vi.  and  viii. 

Baldwin,  Mental  Development  in  the  Child  and  the  Race, 
New  York,  1903,  pp.  349-366. 

Butler,  The  Meaning  of  Education  (first  address),  New 
York,  1898. 

Parental  Discipline. 

Steinmetz,  Ethnologische  Studien  zur  ersten  Entwicklung 
der  Strafe,  ii.,  179-253- 

Ploss,  Das  Kind,  ii.,  345-367, 

Garcilasso  de  la  Vega,  The  Royal  Cofnmentaries  of  the 
Yncas,  in  Pub.  of  the  Hakluyt  Society,  London,  1869,  i.,  145- 
146,  3^5-317. 


loo  The  Family 

Filial  Virtue  Due  to  the  Group. 

Li  Ki  (Sacred  Books  of  the  East),  xxviii.,  66-67,  217,  326- 
238,  419. 

Pregnancy  and  Birth  Taboos. 

Skeat,  Malay  Magic,  London,  1900.  pp.  332-352, 

Couvade. 

Ling  Rotli,  On  the  Signification  of  Couvade,  in  The  Journal 
of  Anthropological  Institute  of  Great  Britain  and  Ireland,  xxii, 
(1893)  204-241. 

Starcke,  The  Primitive  Family,  app.  xvii. 
Sympathetic  Treatment  and  Doctoring  of  Children. 

Ploss,  Das  Kind,  ii.,  192-241. 
Mutilations,  etc. 

lb.,  \.,  289-394. 
Ceremonial  Bathing,  Anointing,  etc. 

lb.,  i.,  256-287. 
Separation  of  Boys  and  Girls. 

Crawley,  The  Mystic  Rose,  X)"^.  215-221. 

NOTE    B 

The  Origin  and  Meaning  of  Couvade. 

Animistic  hygiene  :  An  outcome  of  the  primitive  mental 
state  "  in  which  man  does  not  separate  the  subjective  mental 
connection  from  the  objective  physical  connection."  Also 
expressive  of  the  primitive  conception  of  parentage  through 
the  father  only.  Tylor,  Researches  into  the  Early  History 
of  Mankind,  London,  1870,  pp.  297-300.  Symbolic  of 
transition  from  a  maternal  to  a  paternal  system.  Tylor, 
On  a  Method  of  Investigating  the  Development  of  Institutions  j 
Applied  to  Laws  of  Marriage  and  Descent,  in  J.  A.  I,  xviii., 
256. 

The  practice  is  based  on  the  idea  that  the  acts  or  dieting 
of  the  father  will  affect  the  child.  A  person  takes  on  the 
characteristics  of  animals  that  are  eaten.  Lubbock,  The 
Origin  of  Civilisation  and  the  Primitive  Condition  of  Man, 
London,  1870,  p.  12. 


Home  Education  and  Parenthood       loi 

A  symbolic  representation  of  the  physiological  relation  be- 
tween father  and  offspring  in  distinction  to  original  mother- 
kinship.  Wilken,  De  Couvade  bij  de  Volken  van  d''n  Ifidischen 
Archipel  {Bijdragen  tot  de  Taat-Land-  en  Volkenkunde  van 
Nederlandsch- Indie)  ^0.  vol.,  Greeks  iv. 

lb.,  Bachofen,  Das  Mutterrecht,  Basel,  1897,  p.  256. 

Belongs  to  the  period  of  human  development  character- 
ised by  belief  in  magic.  Matronymy  and  the  transition  from 
matronymy  to  patronymy  are  coincident  but  not  at  all  causal 
phenomena.  Ling  Roth,  On  the  Signification  of  Couvade  in 
y.  A.  /.,  xxii.,  224-240. 

An  expiatory  offering  to  the  malevolent  spirits  which 
threaten  the  child.  Hellwald,  Die  menschliche  Familie^ 
Leipzig,  1889,  p.  362. 

Redemption  sacrifice  rendered  by  the  father  in  place  of 
the  actual  sacrifice  of  the  first-born.  Lippert,  Die  Geschichte 
der  Familie.     Stuttgart,  1884,  pp.  213  ff. 

Through  conjugal  sympathy  husband  substitutes  himself 
for  wife  to  ward  off  evil  influences  from  her.  Crawley, 
The  Mystic  Rose,  London  and  New  York,  1902,  p.  425. 

An  outcome  of  husband's  sympathy  with  wife.  Cases  have 
been  observed  in  which  the  husband  experiences  nausea 
during  his  wife's  pregnancy.  Fere,  Contribution  a  la  path- 
ologic de  la  sympathie  conjugate  ;  une  interpretation physiologique 
de  la  couvade  in  Comptes  Rendus  Hebdomadaires  des  Se'ances 
de  la  Socie'te  de  Biologic,  Paris,  1899,  p.  258. 

In  no  sense  an  imitative  act  of  substitution  ;  for  among 
primitive  peoples  the  mother's  delivery  is  not  accompanied 
by  a  confinement.  It  indicates  a  realisation  of  a  physical 
but  not  necessarily  blood  relation  between  father  and  child 
and  the  obligation  upon  the  father  to  maintain  the  child  in 
sound  health.  It  is  the  sign  not  of  a  developing  patronymic 
system,  but  of  a  developing  patriarchate.  Dargun,  Mut- 
terrecht  tmd  Vatterrecht,  Leipzig,  1892,  i.,  18-28. 

A  practice  for  the  good  of  the  child  ;  by  it  the  father's 
power  of  endurance  is  assured  to  the  child.  Starcke,  The 
Primitive  Family,  p.  52. 

An  expression  of  parental  sympathy  and  sense  of  re- 
sponsibility.    Ploss,  Das  Kind,  i.,  153-160. 


LIBRARY 

UNTVERSTTY  OF  CALIFORNIA' 
SANTA   BARBARA 


I02  The  Family 

The  Origin  and  Meaning  of  Teknonymy. 

The  father  is  treated  as  a  stranger  until  the  birth  of  the 
child.  This  gives  him  a  status  which  the  new  name  ex- 
presses.    Tylor,  On  a  Method,  etc.,  pp.  248-250. 

Indicative  of  a  transition  from  matronymy  to  patronymy. 
The  father  takes  the  name  of  his  son  and  resigns  his  rank 
and  property  in  the  son's  favour  in  order  to  guarantee  his  own 
son's  instead  of  his  sister's  son's  inheritance.  An  instance 
of  the  fondness  of  the  savage  to  call  himself  after  any  new 
and  valued  acquisition.  Steinmetz,  Ethnologische  Studien 
zur  ersten  Entwicklung  der  Strafe,  ii.,  1 236-1 248. 

The  name  being  in  primitive  thought  a  vital  part  of  an  in- 
dividual, the  parents  take  the  child's  name  to  protect  him. 
This  renaming  of  the  parents  also  confirms  their  mutual 
conjugal  ties.     Crawley,  The  Mystic  Rose,  pp.  431-432. 

The  Origin  and  Meaning  of  Circumcision,  Etc. 

A  token  of  tribal  membership.  Lippert,  Die  Kultur- 
geschichte,  Leipzig  and  Prag,  1886,  ii.,  ti-^z. 

A  means,  like  tattooing,  of  sexual  attraction.  Wester- 
marck,  The  History  of  Jfu?nan  Marriage,  pp.  201-206,  also 
pp.  168-182. 

A  preparation  for  marriage,  expediting  puberty.  Mucke, 
Horde  titid  Familic,  Stuttgart,  1895,  pp.  79-80. 

NOTE   C 

Tabulate  groups  in  which  parental  control  is  on  the  whole  an 
expression  of  parental  ownership,  and  groups  in  which  it  is  on  the 
whole  a  purposive  means  of  education,  giving  reasons  for  your 
classifications.  Describe  in  as  many  cases  as  possible  the  treat- 
ment of  well-known  ifinovators  by  their  familv.  Study  the  char- 
acter of  the  agent  or  agents  in  mutilation  practices.  The 
history  of  hereditary  crafts  and  professions.  Describe  beliefs 
and  practices  in  various  economic  and  cultural  groups  in  modern 
civilisation  indicative  of  the  prevailing  type  of  parenthood. 
Make  a  comparative  study  of  groups  in  which  couvade  or 
sympathetic  practices  are  confined  to  the  birth  of  the  first  child. 
Describe  animistic  notions  in  groups  in  modern  civilisation  in 
regard  to  pregnancy,  birth,  and  bringing-up  in  general  of  children. 


Home  Education  and  Parenthood      103 

Make  a  comparative  study  of  conjugal  abstinence  practices 
during  pregnancy  and  lactation  period.  Make  a  comparative 
study  of  mourning  rites  and  tattoos  in  relation  to  deceased  off- 
spring; of  mutilation  practices,  indicating  when  possible  their 
object.  Describe  differentiation  in  home  education  according  to 
sex  in  groups  in  modern  civilisation.  A  thorough  study  of  cere- 
monial avoidance  in  connection  with  endogamous  and  exogamous 
marriage  rules  (follow  Tylor's  method). 

NOTE  D 

Yahgan : 

Parents  very  fond  of  offspring   x.,  331. 

Girls  learn  at  an  early  age  to  make  baskets,  to  weave  fishing 
nets,  to  paddle,  etc.  Little  boys  lose  no  time  in  acquiring  skill 
in  throwing  harpoons  and  stones,  in  making  harpoons,  etc.   p. 

171. 
In  the  lack  of  surviving  husband  or  wife,  eldest  son  inherits. 

X.,  334. 

Both  parents  take  certain  precautions  in  their  diet,  thinking 
that  certain  things  would  injure  child.  Customary  for  them  to 
rest  one  or  two  weeks  after  the  birth,  vii.,  170.  If  a  suckling 
fall  ill,  always  attributed  to  a  food  eaten  by  mother.  For  this 
reason  she  abstains  from  whale  fat.  vii.,  171 

Parents  of  a  new-born  child  called  Yimbilna.  vii.,  170 
Central  Australians: 

To  their  children  they  are  with  very  rare  exceptions  kind  and 
considerate,  carrying  them  when  they  get  tired  on  the  march,  and 
always  seeing  that  they  get  a  good  share  of  any  food.  However 
the  native  is  liable  to  fits  of  sudden  passion,  and  in  one  of  these, 
hardly  knowing  what  he  does,  he  may  treat  a  child  with  great 
severity,  pp.  50-51. 

The  children  go  out  with  the  mother  and,  from  the  moment 
they  can  toddle  about,  they  begin  to  imitate  the  actions  of  their 
mother.  In  the  scrub  a  woman  will  be  digging  up  lizards  or 
honey  ants,  while  close  by  her  small  child  will  be  at  work,  with 
its  diminutive  pick  taking  its  first  lessons  in  what,  if  it  be  a  girl, 
will  be  the  main  employment  of  her  life.    p.  27. 

If  a  woman  eat  meat  early  in  pregnancy,  the  unborn  child  is 


I04  The  Family 

supposed  to  resent  it  by  causing  sickness.  During  first  three  or 
four  months,  liusband  does  not  kill  any  large  game,  otherwise 
sickness  or  sufferings  of  mother  would   be  largely  increased,  p. 

47I' 

During  part  of  a  boy's  initiation  ceremonies  his  mother  must 
have  no  sexual  intercourse  with  his  father,  otherwise  the  boy 
would  grow  up  bad,  too  much  given  to  sexual  pleasures,    p.  250. 

Circumcision  and  subincision  are  practised  at  initiation,  pp. 
213^.  A  magic  ceremony  to  promote  the  growth  of  a  girl  s  breasts 
is  practised.  After  it  a  girl's  mother  makes  a  separate  camp  for 
her  to  live  in  for  a  time.  pp.  459-460. 

An  operation  called  Atna-ariltha-kuma  {atna^  vulva;  kuma, 
cut)  is  performed  on  marriageable  girls,  p.  93,  Nose-boring  is 
performed  on  boys,  also  on  girls  after  marriage,  p.  459.  A  cere- 
mony of  knocking  out  a  tooth  is  performed  at  various  ages  upon 
both  sexes  among  groups  inhabiting  a  certain  region,  called  rain 
country,  pp.  450-451. 

After  the  end  of  the  cord  falls  off,  mother  swathes  it  in  fur- 
string  and  hangs  it  around  child's  neck.  Supposed  to  facilitate 
growth  of  child,  to  avert  illness,  and  to  deaden  to  child  the  noise 
of  the  barking  of  the  camp  dogs.  p.  467. 

Point  Barrow  Eskimo: 

Affection  of  parents  for  their  children  extreme.  Though 
greatly  indulged,  children  are  very  obedient,   p.  417. 

Young  children  seem  to  receive  little  or  no  instruction  except 
what  they  pick  up  in  their  play  or  from  watching  their  elders,  p. 

417- 

Girls  '  chins  are  tatooed  when  they  become  marriageable.  A 
few  little  girls  had  a  single  line  on  the  chin.  p.  139.  Nearly  all 
the  women  and  girls  perforate  the  lobes  of  the  ear  for  earrings,  p. 
142.  At  puberty  the  lips  of  the  boys  are  incised  for  labrets.  p. 
143- 

Behring  Strait  Eskimo: 

In  one  case  a  small  ivory  carving  of  a  white  whale  was  placed 
in  new-born  child's  mouth,  so  as  to  feed  him  upon  something 
according  to  the  father,  that  would  make  him  grow  up  a  fine 
hunter.  The  shaman  sang  for  half  an  hour  over  the  boy  to  make 
him  stout-hearted  and  manly,    p.  290. 


Home  Education  and  Parenthood      105 

Boys  at  puberty  wear  labrets.  p.  48.  Women  are  tattooed,  p. 
50.  The  septum  of  little  girls  is  pierced  and  they  wear  nose 
beads  until  maturity,  p.  52. 

Central  Eskimo: 

Children  treated  very  kindly;  not  scolded,  whipped,  or  sub- 
jected to  any  corporal  punishment,  p.  580. 

As  a  great  part  of  personal  property  is  destroyed  at  death, 

objects   of   inheritance   are   few, — gun,  harpoon,    sledge,   dogs, 

kayak,  boat  and  tent  poles  of  a  man,  and  lamp    and  pots  of  a 

woman.  The  first  inheritor  is  eldest  son  living  with  parents,  sons 

and  daughters  in  separate  households  do  not  share,  pp.  580-581. 

After  childbirth,  mother  not  allowed  for  a  year  to  eat  raw 
meat  or  part  of  any  animal  killed  by  being  shot  through  the 
heart.  Cumberland  Sound:  she  must  not  eat  for  five  days  any- 
thing except  meat  of  an  animal  killed  by  her  husband  or  by  a 
boy  on  his  first  hunting  expedition.  She  must  keep  a  little  skin 
bag  hung  up  near  her,  into  which  she  must  put  a  little  of  her  food 
after  each  meal,  having  first  put  it  up  to  her  mouth.  This  is 
called  laying  up  food  for  the  infant,  although  none  is  given  it.  p. 
611. 

After  death  of  infant,  mother  must  keep  her  head  covered  for 
a  year.  Boots  of  the  deceased  always  carried  about  by  parents 
when  travelling,  and  whenever  they  stop  these  buried  in  snow  or 
under  stones.  Neither  parent  may  eat  raw  flesh  during  the  year, 
pp.  611-612. 

Girls  are  tattooed  when  about  12  years  old.  p.  561. 

Melanesians: 

Lepers'  Isl. :  Women  do  not  succeed  to  land,  but  have  a  right 
to  a  share  in  the  produce  of  their  father's  gardens,  which  their 
brothers  are  considered  to  hold  partly  for  them.  A  man's  gar- 
den-ground goes  to  his  sons.  They  arrange  the  division  of  it 
among  themselves,  p.  67. 

Northern  New  Hebrides:  The  son  does  not  inherit  chieftain- 
ship, but  he  inherits,  if  his  father  can  manage  it,  what  gives  him 
chieftainship — his  father's  charms,  magic  songs,  stones  and  appar- 
atus, and  his  knowledge  of  the  way  to  approach  spiritual  beings, 
ais  well  as  his  property,  p.  56.  [See  pp.  309-10  for  the  passing 
of  succession  by  nephews  to  that  by  sons.] 


io6      Home  Education  and  Parenthood 

Banks'  Isls:  Both  parents  eat  only  what  if  taken  by  the  child 
when  it  is  born,  would  not  make  it  ill.  Before  birth  of  first  child, 
mother  must  not  eat  fish  caught  by  the  hook,  net,  or  trap.  After 
birth  of  first  child,  father  does  no  heavy  work  for  a  month.  Ai'ter 
birth  of  any  of  his  children,  he  takes  care  not  to  go  into  those 
sacred  places  into  which  child  could  not  go  without  risk. 

Araga:  After  birth,  father  must  not  eat  shell-fish  or  other 
beach  produce,  for  infant  would  suffer  from  ulcers. 

Lepers'  Isl.:  Father  very  careful  for  ten  days;  does  no  work, 
will  not  climb  a  tree,  or  go  far  into  the  sea  to  bathe,  for  if  he 
exerts  himself,  the  child  will  suffer.  San  Cristoval:  Father 
lies  in  after  childbirth,  pp.  228-229. 

No  girl  thought  marriageable  unless  tattooed,  p.  23;.  Cir- 
cumcision has  been  introduced  into  Pentecost  and  Aurora,    p. 

234- 

Saa:  When  a  new-born  infant  is  eight  or  ten  days  old,  a 
sacrifice  is  make  to  family  ghost  to  provide  against  misfortune, 
p.  230. 

Ewe-Speaking  Peoples: 

A  native  proverb:  Follow  the  customs  of  your  father.  What 
he  did  not  do,  avoid  doing,  or  you  will  harm  yourself,  p.  263. 

A  wife's  property  passes  at  her  death  to  her  children,   p.  216. 

A  woman  may  not  admit  the  male  during  pregnancy  or  while 
suckling,  p.  206. 

As  soon  as  a  child  is  born  a  priestess  offers  sacrifice  to  the  god 
Legba  to  prevent  his  harming  mother  or  infant,    p.  153. 

Tshi-Speaking  Peoples: 

After  birth  a  child  has  charms  bound  around  it  to  avert  mis- 
fortune, p.  233. 

Yoruba-Speaking  Peoples: 

Daughters  have  no  inheritance  in  their  father's  house;  but  they 
divide  between  them  their  mother's  property.  When  a  man  dies 
his  sons  divide  all  his  property  between  them.  p.  177. 

During  lactation  period,  wife  must  not  cohabit  with  husband. 
p.  185. 

Seven  days  after  birth  for  a  girl,  nine  for  a  boy,  sacrifices  are 
made.  p.  152. 


Home  Education  and  Parenthood        107 

Thompson  River  Indians: 

Until  puberty  children  allowed  to  play  or  do  almost  as  they 
liked,  only  two  restrictions  laid  on  them:  made  to  rise  early  and 
wash  frequently  in  cold  water,  and  not  permitted  to  play  after 
sunset  or  make  too  much  noise.  They  were  often  scared  into 
quietness  by  being  told,  "  The  owl  will  come  and  take  you,"  p. 
308.  Twice  during  the  winter  boys  and  girls  had  to  pass  through 
an  ordeal  called  "  whipping  the  children."  An  elderly  man  armed 
with  a  switch  would  enter  the  winter-house  and  invite  some  one 
to  pick  berries  off  the  switch.  If  the  older  people  did  not  inter- 
fere either  by  "  picking  berries"  or  taking  a  thrashing,  each  child 
about  the  age  of  eight  years  and  upward  had  to  come  forward 
one  at  a  time,  dance,  sing,  and  go  through  the  motion  of  picking 
berries  into  a  basket.  If  all  did  this,  the  flogger  went  away;  but 
if  any  refused,  either  through  fear  or  bashfulness,  or  in  order  to 
show  courage,  they  had  to  come  forward,  and  were  struck  four 
times  over  the  bare  back.  Sometimes  a  lad  asked  for  and  took 
more  than  four  lashes.  Often  his  whole  body  was  covered  with 
blood.  He  had  done  a  great  feat.  A  boy  who  was  not  bashful, 
but  went  and  met  the  fiogger  as  he  came  into  the  house,  made  a 
speech  to  him,  and  holding  out  his  hands,  blessed  him,  was 
generally  exempt  from  the  flogging,  pp.  309-310, 

A  pregnant  woman  not  allowed  to  touch  with  her  hand  or  eat 
the  flesh  of  the  porcupine,  or  anything  killed  by  an  eagle  or  hawk. 
If  she  did  her  child  would  resemble  them  in  form,  features,  or 
habits.  If  she  ate  flesh  of  the  hare,  the  child  would  have  a  hare- 
lip. She  must  not  look  on  when  a  corpse  was  being  prepared 
for  burial;  if  she  did,  the  navel-string  would  become  twisted 
around  the  child,  like  the  string  tied  around  the  corpse.  She 
could  eat  nothing  forbidden  to  her  husband.  He  must  not  hunt  the 
black  or  grisly  bear,  nor  eat  their  meat,  else  the  child  would  cease 
to  exisit  in  the  womb  or  be  still-born.  He  must  not  eat  or  hunt 
porcupine,  hare,  otter,  wolf,  coyote,  marten,  badger.  Hunting  or 
eating  willow-grouse  or  fool-hen  was  forbidden,  that  the  child 
might  not  be  foolish.  He  must  not  hunt  or  eat  squirrel,  else  the 
child  would  cry  much  when  young.  He  must  not  kill  snakes  of 
any  kind;  if  he  did,  the  child  would  resemble  a  dead  person  or 
ghost.  Before  the  birth  of  the  first  child,  both  parents  had  to 
bathe  often  in  cold  water  and  to  sweat-bathe.     They  had  to  pray 


io8  The  Family 

to   the   Dawn   of   the  Day  and  sometimes    to  the  Water,     pp. 
303-304. 

Formerly  after  childbirth  a  woman  separated  from  her  hus- 
band 3  or  4  months,  now  6  weeks,  p.  305. 

Shortly  after  birth  a  child's  nose  was  pulled  to  prevent  it 
developing  a  "pug"  nose.  Its  eyelids  were  pulled  up  and  down 
that  it  should  have  nice,  round,  open  eyes.  All  parts  of  the 
body  were  pulled  or  rubbed  by  father  or  mother  so  that  the  limbs, 
etc.,  should  be  well  formed.  As  the  features  were  pulled  and 
shaped  would  the  child  be  pretty  or  ugly.  p.  308. 

Immediately  after  the  birth,  father  fired  an  arrow  into  the  air 
to  prevent  the  child's  navel  from  swelling.  The  piece  of  the  in- 
fant's navel  string  outside  of  the  ligature,  after  dropping  off,  was 
sewed  up  by  the  mother  in  a  piece  of  embroidered  buckskin  and 
tied  to  the  head  of  the  cradle.  If  this  piece  were  lost,  the  child 
would  in  later  life  become  foolish  or  bad  or  would  be  lost  hunting  or 
travelling,  pp.  304-305.  The  father  placed  a  miniature  bow  and 
arrows  in  new-born  son's  hands,  saying,  "  May  you  use  them  well  in 
after  years,  p.  304.  A  new-born  child  washed  in  water  in  which 
tamarack-bark  water  had  been  boiled  to  make  it  strong  in  after 
years,  p.  305. 
Kabyles  : 

A  nursing  mother  has  right  to  refuse  to  cohabit  with  husband  if 
she  thinks  it  would  injure  child,  ii.,  170. 

Ancient  Arabs  : 

God  instructs  you  concerning  your  children;  for  a  male  the 
like  of  the  portion  of  two  females,    Pt.  i.,  p.   73. 

Ancient  Hebrews: 

An  angel  of  the  Lord  predicted  the  birth  of  a  son  unto  the 
wife  of  Manoah  and  said.  Drink  not  wine  nor  strong  drink  and 
eat  not  any  unclean  thing.    Judges  xiii.,  2-14. 

David's  child  was  sick  and  David  besought  God  for  the  child. 
He  fasted  and  lay  all  night  upon  the  earth,   ii.  Sam.  xii.,  16. 

Ancient  Babylonians  : 

An  undowered  daughter  receives  the  portion  of  a  son.  At  her 
death  it  goes  to  her  brother.  §  180.  An  undowered,  god-given 
woman  inherits  one  third  the  portion  of  a  son.  After  her  death 
it  belong  to  her  brothers.    §  181.     If  a  priestess  of  Marduk,   she 


Home  Education  and  Parenthood       109 

may   give  it   to   whomsoever  she   please.     §   182.     A  woman's 
dowry  belongs  to  her  children.  §  162. 

If  a  man  present  field,  garden,  or  house  to  his  favourite  son 
and  write  for  him  a  sealed  deed;  after  the  father  dies,  when  the 
brothers  divide,  he  shall  take  the  present  which  the  father  gave 
him,  and  over  and  above  they  shall  divide  the  goods  of  the  father's 
house  equally.  §  165.  The  children  of  different  wives  shall  in- 
herit the  dowries  of  their  respective  mothers  and  divide  equally 
their  father's  goods.  §  167.  If  a  man  set  his  face  to  disinherit 
his  son  and  say  to  the  judges:  "I  will  disinherit  my  son,"  the 
judges  shall  inquire  into  his  antecedents,  and  if  the  son  have  not 
committed  a  crime  sufficiently  grave  to  cut  him  off  from  sonship, 
the  father  may  not  cut  him  off.  The  father  may  cut  him  off  only 
for  the  second  offence.    §§  168-169. 

Ancient  Hindus  : 

One's  son  must  be  considered  as  one's  own  body.  One's 
daughter  as  the  highest  object  of  tenderness,  iv.,  184,  185.  For 
defaming  one's  son  a  fine  of  100  panas.  viii.,  275.  A  man  may 
not  quarrel  with  his  son  or  daughter,  iv.,  180,  181.  Casting  off 
one's  son  a  minor  offence  causing  loss  of  caste,  xi.,  60,  67.  Also 
punished  by  king  by  a  fine  of  600  panas.    xiii.,  389. 

Before  the  navel-string  is  cut,  the  Gatakarman  (birth-rite)  must 
be  performed  for  a  male  child;  and  while  sacred  formulas  are 
being  recited,  he  must  be  fed  with  gold,  honey,  and  butter,  ii., 
29.  The  Namadheya  (rite  of  naming)  should  be  performed  on  the 
tenth  or  twelfth  day  or  on  a  lucky  lunar  day,  in  a  lucky  muhtlrta, 
under  an  auspicious  constellation,  ii,,  30.  In  the  fourth  month 
the  Nishkramana  (first  leaving  of  the  house),  in  the  sixth  month 
the  Annaprasana  (first  feeding  with  rice),  should  be  performed, 
and  optionally  any  other  auspicious  ceremony  required  by  the 
custom  of  the  family,  ii.,  34.  The  K^idakarraan  (tonsure)  must 
be  performed  for  the  sake  of  spiritual  merit  by  all  twice-born  men 
in  the  first  or  third  year,     ii.,  35. 

Ancient  Chinese: 

He  who  for  three  years  does  not  change  from  the  way  of  his 
father,  may  be  pronounced  filial,  xxviii.,  290-291.  What  his 
parents  loved,  a  filial  son  will  love  to  the  end  not  only  of  their 
lives  but  of  his  own  life,  and  what  they  reverenced,  he  will  rever- 


no  The  Family 

ence.  He  will  do  so  even  in  regard  to  all  their  dogs  and  horses 
and  how  much  more  so  in  regard  to  the  men  whom  they  valued, 
xxvii.,  467-468.  The  physic  of  a  doctor,  in  whose  family  medi- 
cine has  not  been  practised  for  three  generations  at  least,  should 
not  be  taken,     xxvii.,  114. 

For  the  new-born  son  of  a  ruler  from  all  the  concubines  and 
other  likely  individuals  there  was  sought  one  distinguished  for  her 
generosity  of  mind,  her  gentle  kindness,  her  mild  integrity,  her 
respectful  learning,  her  carefulness  and  freedom  from  talkative- 
ness, who  should  be  appointed  the  boy's  teacher;  one  was  next 
chosen  who  should  be  his  indulgent  mother,  and  a  third  who 
should  be  his  guardian  mother.  These  all  lived  in  his  apartment 
in  the  palace,  xxvii.,  473.  When  the  child  was  able  to  take  its 
own  food,  it  was  taught  to  use  the  right  hand.  At  six  years  they 
were  taught  the  numbers  and  the  names  of  the  cardinal  points. 
At  eight,  when  going  out  or  coming  in  at  a  gate  or  door,  and  go- 
ing to  their  mats  to  eat  and  drink,  they  were  required  to  follow 
their  elders;  the  teaching  of  yielding  to  others  was  now  begun; 
at  nine,  they  were  tauglit  how  to  number  the  days.  At  ten,  the 
boy  went  to  a  master  outside,  and  stayed  with  him  even  over  the 
night.  A  girl's  governess  taught  her  the  arts  of  pleasing  speech 
and  manners,  to  be  docile  and  obedient,  to  handle  the  hempen 
fibres,  to  deal  with  the  cocoons,  to  weave  silks  and  form  fillets,  to 
learn  all  woman's  work,  how  to  furnish  garments,  to  watch  the 
sacrifices,  to  supply  the  liquors  and  sauces,  to  fill  the  various 
stands  and  dishes  with  pickles  and  brine,  and  to  assist  in  setting 
forth  the  appurtenances  for  the  ceremonies.  When  a  child  was 
able  to  speak,  a  boy  was  taught  to  respond  boldly  and  clearly;  a 
girl,  submissively  and  low.     xxvii.,  477. 

Before  his  parents,  a  son  may  speak  of  the  duty  due  to  parents, 
but  not  of  the  gentle  kindness  due  from  them,  xxviii.,  290-291. 
When  a  wife  was  about  to  have  a  child,  and  the  month  of  her 
confinement  had  arrived,  she  occupied  one  of  the  side  apart- 
ments, where  her  husband  sent  twice  a  day  to  ask  for  her.  If  he 
were  moved  and  came  himself  to  ask  about  her,  she  did  not  pre- 
sume to  see  him,  but  made  her  governess  dress  herself  and  reply 
to  him.  After  the  birth,  the  husband  fasted  and  did  not  enter  the 
door  of  the  side  apartment,  xxvii.,  471.  Among  the  common 
people  who  had  no  side  chambers,  when   the  month  of  confine- 


Home  Education  and  Parenthood        1 1 1 

ment  was  come,  the  husband  left  his  bed-chamber,  and  occupied 
a  common  apartment,     xxvii.,  476. 

After  the  end  of  the  third  month  a  day  was  chosen  for  shaving 
off  the  hair  of  the  child,  excepting  certain  portions, — the  horn- 
like tufts  of  a  boy,  and  the  circlet  on  the  crown  of  a  girl,  xxvii., 
473- 
People  of  the  United  States: 

Municipal  laws  provide  for  the  educational  wants  of  infants, 
§235. 

All  children,  sons  and  daughters,  inherit  alike.    §  273. 


LECTURE  VI 


Substitutes  for 
parents 


SEXUAL    RELATIONS    EXCLUSIVE    OF    MARRIAGE 

Parental  care  and  "  I  ^HE  natuTC  of  parental  carc  is  plainly  and  to  a 
conjugal  rciationa  J  gfcat  cxtcnt  affectcd  by  the  nature  of  con- 
jugal relations.  The  offspring  of  transitory  sex- 
ual intercourse,  for  example,  will  have  the  care 
of  one  parent  only — often  even  this  will  be  lack- 
ino-.^  Moreover,  even  the  single  parent  is  unable  to 
give  as  much  care  to  offspring  as  she  or  he  could  do 
if  living  protected  or  assisted  by  a  mate.  The  more 
lasting,  harmonious,  and  devoted  the  cooperation  of 
parents,  the  greater  the  chance  of  survival  and  devel- 
opment for  offspring.^  It  may  be  well  to  note  again 
at  this  point,  however,  a  fact  that  has  already  been 
referred  to  in  other  connections,  viz.  :  In  almost  all 
societies  there  are  protectors  and  supporters  of  the 
young  in  addition  to,  or  in  place  of,  parents.  So- 
called  juridical  parenthood,  which  embraces  various 
forms  of  adoptio7i,  is,  as  we  shall  see  later,  a  not  un- 
common fact.  Under  polygyny,  the  other  wives  of 
poiygynous  step-  ^y^^  father— the  step-mothers,  so  to  speak — may  care 

mothers  *■  i  i  t 

for  a  child  in  the  absence  of  its  natural  mother.     In 

•  See  pp.  46.  47  for  infanticide  and  artificial  abortion  in  case  of  illegitimate 
offspring.  In  modern  civilisation  the  death-rate  of  illegitimate  children  is 
always  higher  than  that  of  legitimate,  and  the  number  of  still-births  is  greater 
relatively  out  of  than  in  wedlock. 

*  See  p.  45  for  infanticide  as  the  result  of  the  death  of  father  or  mother  or 
of  desertion  by  the  father.  See  pp.  46,  47  f^r  infanticide  and  abortion  as  the 
result  of  jealousy  or  of  spite  against  a  husband. 

112 


Adoption 


Sexual  Relations  Exclusive  of  Marriage      113 

case  of  divorce,  or  in  case  the  husband  live  with  his  M«tem«ikio 
wife's  kin,  the  mother's  father,  brothers,  or  clansmen 
may   wholly   or   partially   take    the    father's    place. 
Under  the  avunculate,^  the  maternal  uncle  may  un- 
dertake in  lieu  of  the  parents  the  discipline  or  sup- 
port of  the  children.    Grandparents,  elder  brothers  or  Kindred,  lervanta, 
sisters,   retainers,  slaves,  servants,  etc.,  may  also  be 
substitutes.     Church  or  State  may  under  certain  cir-  church  or  state 
cumstances  substitute  for  parents. 

In  considering  physiological  facts  of  parenthood  sexuai  intercourse 
we  noted  the  fact  that  among  several  species  of  fish  ofiiief 
there  is   no    contact  whatsoever  between  male  and 
female.     The  ova  are  deposited  by  the  female  and 
subsequently  fertilised  by  the  male.    We  also  learned 
how  important  is  the  viviparous  habit  in  the  preser- 
vation of  offspring.     This  depends,  of  course,  upon 
internal  fertilisation,  and  internal  fertilisation  implies 
contact,  however  temporary,  between   male  and  fe- 
male.    Even  among  a  few  species  of  amphibia  and 
reptiles    male    and    female    remain    together    after 
the  act  of  propagation.     Among  birds  the  pairing  Among  tirda 
season    is    notably    prolonged,    lasting   from    a   few 
weeks   to  two  or   three  months    among   the    lower 
spe^cies  and  for  life  among  many  of  the  higher  spe- 
cies.    Many  birds  are  polygynous,  i.  e.,  mating  with^ 
more  than   one   female  at  a  time.     Lifelong  union 
is  not  known  among  the  lower  mammals.     As  a  rule,  ^"*'°«^  mammaia 
couples  remain  together  only  during  the  fixed  pairing 
season.     Among   mammals,   again,  polygyny  is  fre- 
quent, although  monogamy  also  occurs,  particularly 
among   non-gregarious   mammals.     Evidence   about 
the  conjugal  habits  of  monkeys  and  anthropoid  apes 

*  See  pp.  279-80. 


114  The  Family 

is  somewhat  conflicting,  but  several  species  appear 
to  mate  for  prolonged  periods.  The  gorilla,  for  ex- 
ample, lives  in  families  consisting  of  a  male  and 
females,  offspring  and  wives,  of  various  ages.  Cer- 
tain anthropoids  are  also  monogamous.  Comparing 
these  facts  with  certain  facts  about  parental  care 
among  animals,  we  see  that  there  is  a  marked  corre- 
spondence from  order  to  order  between  extent  of 
parental  care  and  duration  of  sexual  intercourse. 
Elimination  of  a  dis-       Iq  comparing  the  sexual  relations  of  human  beings 

tinct  pairing  season  ,  r  •  i  r       i  i  • 

among  mankind  with  those  of  animals,  one  of  the  most  notable  dis- 
similarities is  the  lack  among  mankind  of  a  distinct 
pairing  season.  Periodicity  of  rut  among  animals  is 
an  outcome  of  natural  selection.  The  rut  in  all  ani- 
mal species  is  so  timed  that  the  birth  of  offspring 
occurs  at  that  season  of  the  year  which  is  most  propi- 
tious to  the  survival  of  the  offspring  of  the  respective 
species.  This  provision  became  unnecessary  for  man 
as  man  grew  more  and  more  independent  of  his  nat- 

Aiieged  traces  of  a  ^^^1  environment.     Traces  of  a  fixed  human  pairing 

human  pairing  season  may  probably  be  seen,  however,  in  certain 
communities  in  the  custom  of  celebrating  marriages 
and  in  the  occurrence  of  a  maximum  birth-rate  at  cer- 
tain times  of  the  year.  The  survival  of  periodic  festi- 
vals at  which  utter  sexual  license  prevails  is  another 

Effects  of  case  in  point.    The  suppression  of  periodicity  in  sexual 

impulse  seems  to  partly  account  for  the  existence 
among  mankind  of  much  sexual  activity  of  non-repro- 
ductive character.^  The  elimination  of  a  fixed  pairing 
season  may  also  account,  in  part,  for  the  development 
of  permanence  in  conjugal  relations.  This  whole  sub- 
ject, however,  needs  careful  investigation. 

'  Non-reproductive  sexual  activity  exists,  but  only  to  a  very  limited  extent, 
among  animals. 


elimination 


Sexual  Relations  Exclusive  of  Marriage  1 1 5 

By  marriage  we  mean  the  living  together  of  male  Definition  of 
and  female  after  the  act  of  propagation  until  the  birth 
of  offspring.^  Before  considering  sexual  relations 
as  thus  limited,  let  us  briefly  consider  those  sexual 
relations  that  are  excluded  from  the  definition.  Such 
relations  affect  marriage  itself  to  a  greater  or  less 
extent. 

There  is  no  known  human  society  in  which  marriage  as  sexuai  intercourse 
we  have  defined  it  does  not  exist,  but  forms  of  sexual  riage^' 
promiscuity  occur  in   many  societies   together   with 
marriage. 

There  are  few  communities  in  which  sexual  promis- 
cuity is  viewed  in  the  same  way  for  both  sexes  or  for 
the  married  and  unmarried. 

In  a  few  cases  absolute  chastity  is  required  of  un- 
married men,  but,  as  a  rule,  they  are  required  only  to  Requirements  for 

,  1        •     1  f  1  T  unmarried  men 

respect  the  sexual  rights  of    other   men.      In    many 
groups  unmarried  girls  are  also  free  in  sexual  matters.  ^ha?tity?oTe«*ted 
Lack  of  chastity  may  not  be  considered  in  marrying 
them  ;  it  may  be  even  thought  of  as  a  desirable  trait 
in  a  bride,  the  number  of  her  accepted  suitors  being 
proof   of  her   charms.     Among  by  far   the   greater 
number  of  peoples,  however,  female  chastity  before 
marriage    is    required.      Unchastity    is    punished   by  punishment  for 
death,  mutilation,  whipping,  exile  from  family,  fines,  »°<=hastity 
etc.     Punishment  may  follow  upon  the  first  offense  or 
only  upon  repeated  offenses.     The  demand  for  chas- 
tity is  seen  most  plainly  in  the  seclusion  or  sex  segrega- 
tion of  unmarried  women  and  in  marriage  contracts. 
After  a  certain  age  girls  may  not  be  allowed  to  speak 

'  This  is,  with  a  minor  change,  Westermarck's  definition.  History  of 
Human  Marriage,  pp.  19-20.  It  is  important  for  the  student  to  note  as  well 
various  juridical  definitions  of  marriage,  i.  e.,  the  forms  of  sexual  intercourse 
that  are  sanctioned  as  marriage  by  particular  communities. 


ii6 


The  Family 


Effect  on  bride- 
price 

Repudiation  of 
hymenlesB  bride 


Betrothal  to  insure 
chastity 


Intolerance  of 
sexual  freedom  after 
marriage 


Treatment  of 
adulterer 


Punishment  of 
adulteress 


to  or  associate  in  any  way  with  men  who  are  not  kins- 
men. They  may  be  restricted  from  leaving  home 
unaccompanied  by  an  elder  woman.  Taboo  upon 
knowledge  of  sex  matters  may  apply  particularly 
severely  to  girls.  (It  should  be  noted  of  course  that 
in  many  groups  such  taboos  and  ceremonial  avoidances 
may  be  wholly  or  primarily  observed  for  reasons 
other  than  the  preservation  of  chastity.^)  Unchaste 
brides  may,  in  some  cases,  bring  no  bride-price, 
or  their  bride-price  may  be  lower  than  that  of 
chaste  brides.  If  at  marriage  the  bride  is  found  to 
have  been  unchaste,  she  may  be  repudiated  and  the 
bride-price  forfeited.  Ceremonial  consisting  of  a  dis- 
play of  the  so-called  tokens  of  virginity,  or  hymen,  is 
common  in  this  connection.  The  custom  of  betrothal 
frequently  indicates  a  demand  for  chastity  in  brides ; 
chastity  may  be  strictly  required  of  betrothed  girls, 
whereas  sexual  freedom  is  allowed  to  the  unbetrothed. 
Chastity  is,  in  a  few  cases,  also  required  of  the 
betrothed  youth. 

Sexual  freedom  before  marriage  may  be  tolerated 
in  groups  where  after  marriage  it  is  severely  con- 
demned. This  distinction  even  applies,  although  to  a 
much  slighter  extent,  in  the  case  of  married  men.  The 
adulterer  is  rarely  directly  punished  for  misbehaviour 
to  his  own  wife,  but  his  act  is  sometimes  ground  for 
divorce  or  reprobation.  There  are,  however,  no  groups 
in  which  adultery  by  the  wife  is  not  condemned.^ 
The  adulteress  may  be  killed,  mutilated — cutting  off 

'  See  p.  170. 

*  Note  that  there  are  groups,  however,  where  the  wife  may  leave  her  husband 
for  another  man  at  pleasure.  The  former  may  have  to  let  her  go  with  or 
without  compensation.  (Sometimes  her  second  has  to  pay  over  to  her  first 
husband  the  original  bride-price.) 


Sexual  Relations  Exclusive  of  Marriage    117 

the  nose  or  ears  or  hair  are  common  forms  of  mutila- 
tion or  disfigurement, — beaten,  sold,  imprisoned,  given 
over  to  violation,  or  divorced.  When  divorced  she  Remamage 
may  be  given  to  the  seducer  with  or  without  payment 
of  a  fine  or  the  original  bride-price,  or  she  may  be 
forbidden  to  marry  the  seducer.  She  may  be  free  or 
she  may  be  forbidden  to  remarry,  or  her  remarriage 
may  be  optional  with  the  husband  divorcing  her.  Of 
interest  here  are  the  methods  taken  to  prevent  adultery 
by  the  wife.  Younger  wives  may  be  guarded  by 
elderly  female  relatives,  by  eunuchs,  etc.  More  or  less 
complete  seclusion  from  other  men  may  be  enforced. 
At  marriage  a  woman  may  be  deprived  of  her  orna- 
ments, her  hair  may  be  cut,  or  certain  features  veiled 
or  disfigured.  When  the  seclusion  or  sex  segregation 
of  wi'^'es  is  required,  acts  of  a  more  or  less  intrinsically 
trivial  nature  may  be  interpreted  as  adulterous,  e.g.^ 
speaking  to  another's  wife,  touching  her  garment, 
associating  with  her  at  certain  times  or  places,  etc. 

The  rapist  or  seducer  may  be  punished  by  death,  r^'p";^;;'^;;;^^, 
blows,  enslavement,  exile,  fines,  etc.  He  may  be 
obliged  to  marry  the  unmarried  girl,  paying  a  bride- 
price  if  customary.  On  the  other  hand,  marriage  with 
him  may  be  forbidden.  His  own  daughter  or  wife 
may  be  violated  in  reveng^e.     Violation  of  a  betrothed  ^^  *=^*'«  *''*  woman 

,    •'  .    *=•  is  betrothed 

girl  may  have  more  serious  consequences  than  that  of 

an  unbetrothed.     No  distinction  may  be  made  between  Distinction  between 

^  ,  rape  and  seduction 

rape  and  seduction  based  on  the  unwillingness  or 
willingness  of  the  woman,  or,  if  the  distinction  is  made, 
there  may  be  a  less  severe,  if  any,  punishment  for  se- 
duction. Where  the  distinction  is  marked,  an  age, 
sometimes  called  the  age  of  consefit,  is  usually  estab- 
lished below  which  a  seduction  is  always  accounted  a 


ii8 


The  Family 


Violation  as  theft 


When  permitted 


Prostitution 


Segregation  ol 
prostitutes 


rape.  The  degree  in  which  the  seduced  girl  is  held 
responsible  for  her  seduction  also  bears  of  course  upon 
this  distinction.  She  may  not  be  punished  at  all,  or, 
as  we  have  seen  in  considering  unchastity  in  general, 
she  may  be  whipped,  disowned  by  her  family,  sold 
into  slavery,  forced  into  prostitution,  or  killed. 

It  should  be  noted  here,  as  in  other  cases,  that  the 
punishment  for  illegitimate  intercourse  may  vary  from 
class  to  class  in  the  same  community.  The  adultery, 
for  example,  of  a  wife  of  a  chief  may  be  punished  by 
death,  whereas  the  same  offense  in  the  wife  of  a 
commoner  may  entail  only  a  beating. 

Because  of  male  ownership  of  daughters  and  wives, 
ungranted  sexual  intercourse  with  them  is  readily 
viewed  as  a  form  of  theft.  When,  on  the  other  hand, 
the  consent  of  the  woman's  owner  is  had,  there  is  no 
offense.  Defloration  by  kinsmen,  wedding  guests, 
priest,  or  over-lord  as  a  preparatory  marriage  rite,  and 
the  lending  of  daughters  or  wives  in  sexual  hospitality 
or  at  festivals,  or  hiring  them  out  in  prostitution,  are 
cases  in  point. 

In  many  communities,  certain  women,  either  because 
they  are  cast  off  by  their  husbands  or  by  male  rela- 
tives or  because  of  various  other  circumstances,  are  not 
considered  the  property  of  one  man  or  group  of  men. 
Theycan  dispose  of  their  own  persons  for  gain.  Except 
in  groups  where  prostitution  is  tolerated  or  even  en- 
couraged in  unmarried  women  as  a  means  of  dowry- 
getting^  or  a  source  of  family  income,  or,  more  rarely, 
in  married  women  as  a  source  of  profit  to  their  hus- 


'  In  certain  groups,  sexual  promhcuity  before  marriage  is  so  extensive  that, 
when  accompanied  by  gifts  from  the  indulged  suitors,  as  frequently  happens,  it 
is  difficult  to  distinguish  it  from  prostitution  proper. 


Sexual  Relations  Exclusive  of  Marriage  119 

bands,  the  prostitute  is  thought  of,  as  a  rule,  as  more 
or  less  unmarriageable.  In  her  dress,  dwelling-place, 
and  opportunities  in  general  for  social  intercourse  she 
is  a  more  or  less  segregated  person  and  forms  a  class 
apart.  This  class  may  even  be  recruited  through  in- 
heritance. Knowledge  in  modern  times  of  the  com- 
municable nature  of  venereal  disease  has  led  several 
European  nations  to  adopt  a  system  of  State  inspec- 
tion and  licensing  of  prostitutes  (**  Continental  sys- 
tem"). It  is  important  to  note  the  extent  of  the 
prevailing  segregation  in  studying  the  attitude  of  the 
group  towards  prostitution. 

In  so-called  temple  prostitution  women  have  been  Religious  prostitu- 
dedicated  by  their  families  to  a  deity  to  whose  priests  *'°° 
or  worshippers  they  give  themselves.  (Parenta  own- 
ership is  seen  also  in  the  dedication  which  leads  to 
religious  chastity.)  Sacerdotal  celibacy  is  frequently 
accompanied  by  forms  of  sexual  promiscuity  and 
sexual  license  is  not  uncommon  at  religious  festivals. 

The  treatment  of  children  who  are  classed  as  illegiti-  illegitimacy 
mate,  the  offspring  of  non-sanctioned  sexual  relations, 
is  very  significant  of  the  group  idea  of  marriage  and 
of  its  attitude  towards  sexual  intercourse  exclusive  of 
what  it  accounts  marriage.*  The  illegitimate  child 
may  be  killed,  deserted  (exposed),  enslaved,  stigma- 
tised in  various  ways  as  an  outcast,  i.  e.,  deprived  of 
name,  right  to  inherit,  right  to  claim  support  or  recog- 
nition of  any  kind  from  father,  etc.  On  the  other 
hand,  the  father  may  be  obliged  to  support  it,  or  it 
may  be  adopted  by  the  mother's  kinsfolk  or  husband 

'  There  are  a  few  exceptions  to  this,  inasmuch  as,  in  some  cases,  promiscuity 
before  marriage  is  tolerated  providing  pregnancy  does  not  result,  pregnancy 
under  these  circumstances  being  considered  a  flagrant  disgrace. 


I20  The  Family 

It  bearing  upon      and  in  no  way  discriminated  against.     The  treatment 
parent  oo  ^£  illegitimates  is  still  more  significant  for  the  light 

it  throws  upon  prevailing  notions  of  parenthood. 
The  more  or  less  harsh  treatment  of  illegitimate 
children  in  all  communities  where  illegitimate  sex- 
ual intercourse  is  to  any  extent  condemned,  is 
evidence  that  the  highest  type  of  parenthood,  or 
the  stage  in  which  the  child  is  educated  for  his  own 
sake,  is  not  general. 
Forms  of  so-called  Part-time  and  term  marriages,  marriages  which  are 
marriage  excluded    dissolved  by  death  or  divorce  before  the  birth  of  off- 

strictly  speaking 

from  our  definition  spHng,  including  trial OT proof  mdimdig&s,  which  are  not 
made  permanent,  voluntarily  and  involuntarily  child- 
less marriages,  are  all  excluded  from  our  definition  of 
marriage.  Voluntarily  childless  marriage  we  have 
already  referred  to,^  marriages  dissolved  by  death  be- 
fore the  birth  of  offspring  and  involuntarily  childless 
marriage  we  need  not  consider,  as  other  than  social 
factors  are  in  such  cases  of  chief  weight  (barren  mar- 
riage will,  however,  be  referred  to  again  as  a  cause 
for  divorce),  and  the  remaining  forms  of  so-called 
marriage  we  shall  discuss  when  we  consider  the  forms 
and  duration  of  marriage  in  our  acceptance  of  the 
term. 

NOTE  A 

Sexual  Intercourse  and  Marriage  among  Animals. 

Hellwald,   Die    menschliche    Familie,  pp.    22-32,   Leipzig, 
1889. 

Darwin,    The  Descent  of  Man,  pp.  220-224. 

A  Human  Pairing  Season. 

Westermarck,    The  History  of  Human  Marriage,  chap.  ii. 

See  p.  49  also  pp.  351-2. 


Sexual  Relations  Exclusive  of  Marriage    121 

Temporary  Forms  of  Sexual  Intercourse. 

Post,  GrundrisSytic,  i.,  17-30.  Familienrechts^  pp.  340-364. 

Letourneau,'  The  Evolution  of  Marriage  and  of  the 
Family^  London,  1891,  chap.  iii.  and  pp.  56-69. 

Spencer  and  Gillen,  Northern  Tribes  of  Central  Aus- 
tralia ^  chap.  iv. 

Schmidt,  Jus  PrimcB  NoctcB,  Freiburg  im  Breisgau,  1881, 
pp.  57-67.    (Religious  defloration,  etc.) 

Stiles,  Bundling,  Albany,  1871. 

Ploss  and  Bartels,  Das  Weib,  i.,  539-554.  (Prostitution, 
ethnographical  data.) 

Johnson,  The  Social  Evil.  New  York  and  London,  1902, 
chaps,  ii-iv  and  appendices.  (Prostitution  :  ancient,  medi- 
eval, and  modern  forms.) 

Booth,  Life  and  Labour  of  the  People  in  London,  x.,  121-132. 
(Prostitution  in  London.) 

Lea,  Sacerdotal  Celibacy  in  the  Christian  Church,  Boston, 
1884,  chap.  xxi. 

NOTE   B 

The  Origin  of  Pre-nuptial  Chastity. 

Early  betrothal  may  have  led  to  its  demand.      Kautsky, 
Die  Entstehung  der Ehe und Familie'\xiKosinos,yi\\.,^'^.2,ZZ'2)'hA* 
The  Origin  of  Religious  Chastity. 

In  the  gift  of  women  to  gods.  Parsons.  The  American 
Journal  of  Sociology,  March,  1906. 

NOTE  C 

Study  the  duration  of  marriage  in  groups  showing  traces  of  a 
fixed  pairing  season.  Make  a  comparison  of  juristic  definitions 
of  marriage.  Make  a  comparative  study  of  seclusion  and  avoid- 
ance practices  for  unmarried  women,  indicating  when  possible 
the  motive  or  motives  for  the  practice.  Describe  the  same  prac- 
tices in  modern  civilization,  likewise  existing  taboos  on  instruction 
of  girls  in  matters  of  sex.  Study  the  history  of  punishment  for 
adultery,  noting  in  particular  group  participation  both  in  explicit 
condemnation  and  in  actual  punishment.     Make  a  comparative 

•  Note  that  his  interpretations  are  always  to  be  taken  with  much  caution. 


122.  The  Family 

study  of  guards  against  adultery.  Analyse  the  cases  of  wife- 
"  guarding"  to  be  found  in  modern  civilisation  and  the  acts  that 
are  condemned  by  public  opinion  as  "  improper  "  or  "  indiscreet  " 
on  the  part  of  married  women.  Give  the  history  of  the  distinc- 
tion between  rape  and  seduction.  Make  special  studies  of  special 
points  in  the  treatment  of  the  illegitimate  child.  (There  is  no 
adequate  history  of  illegitimacy.) 

NOTE  D 
Veddahs  : 

Jealousy  very  strong.  Wives  and  daughters  kept  away  from 
other  men.  p.  462.  Adultery  rare.  p.  458.  Seducer  killed  by 
husband,  p.  463.     Sometimes  guilty  wife  too.  p.  464. 

Yahgan : 

Girls  of  10  to  12  found  to  be  no  longer  virgin,  vii.,  188. 
Girls  free  to  act  as  they  like.  H.  &  D.  vii.,  378.  Before  a 
child  is  born,  not  unusual  to  see  a  girl  change  her  husband  sev- 
eral times.  H.  &  D.  vii.,  378.  Marriage  appears  not  to  be 
thought  of  as  binding  before  birth  of  a  child.  H.  &  D.  vii.,  377 
Outside  of  marriage,  jealousy  does  not  occur.   H.  &  D.,  vii.,  379. 

Wife's  adultery  is  often  punished  by  husband,  and  often  en- 
tails a  certain  amount  of  public  disapproval.  H.  &  D.  vii.,  378. 
Adulteress  and  her  seducer  punished  by  blows  inflicted  by  hus- 
band or  his  relatives.  Carrying  off  married  women  thought 
of  as  criminal,  x,,  335. 

Certain  unmarried  women  given  to  prostitution  and  to  a  certain 
degree  held  in  contempt,  ib. 
Central  Australians  : 

If,  rightly  or  wrongly,  a  man  thinks  his  wife  guilty  of  a 
breach  of  the  laws  which  govern  marital  relations,  then  treat- 
ment of  woman  marked  by  brutal  and  often  revolting  severity, 
p.  50.  If  a  man  wishes  to  punish  wife  for  supposed  un- 
faithfulness, he  may  go  to  the  Erathipa  stone  and,  rubbing  it, 
mutter,  "  That  woman  of  mine  has  thrown  me  aside  ;  go  quickly 
and  hang  on  tightly  "  ;  meaning  that  the  child  is  to  remain  a 
long  time  in  the  woman,  and  so  cause  her  death,  p.  338.  Some 
of  the  people  of  the  Alcheringa  do  not  undergo  reincarnation; 
called  Oruncha,  or  devil  men,  mischievous  creatures  who  when 
met  out  alone  in  the  dark  will  carry  off  victims  into  the  earth. 


Sexual  Relations  Exclusive  of  Marriage  123 

Partly,  no  doubt,  the  idea  is  a  creation  of  men  of  old  to  act  as  a 
wholesome  check  upon  women  who  might  be  prone  to  wander 
away  under  cover  of  darkness  from  domestic  hearth,  and  it  does 
undoubtedly  act  as  a  strong  deterrent  to  any  wandering  about 
at  night  by  men  and  women  alike,  pp.  327-328, 

To  punish  a  man  who  has  stolen  a  wife,  and  who  belongs  to  a 
distant  group  or  to  one  which  is  too  powerful  to  allow  matters  to 
come  to  an  open  fight,  two  men,  perhaps  former  husband  and 
another,  prepare  a  special  implement  of  magic.  It  is  sung  over 
and  left  in  sun  for  some  days  at  a  secluded  spot.  Every  day 
the  men  sing  to  it  and  request  it  to  go  and  kill  the  man  who  stole 
the  woman.  "Go  straight  ;  go  straight  and  kill  him."  A  noise 
like  a  crash  of  thunder  may  be  heard,  or  a  ball  of  fire  streaking 
across  the  sky  may  be  seen,  and  then  they  know  that  charm  has 
succeeded,  pp.  548-549. 

A  man  may  always  lend  his  wife — that  is,  woman  to  whom 
he  has  first  right — to  another  man,  provided  always  he  be  her 
Nupa  without  the  relationship  of  Piraungaru  existing  between 
the  two,  but  unless  this  relationship  exists  no  man  has  any  right  of 
access  to  a  woman,  p.  (i2>-  During  an  initiation,  two  men  belong- 
ing to  the  resident  group  will  determine,  without  saying  anything 
previously  to  two  visiting  men,  to  lend  their  wives  each  to  one 
of  the  latter.  During  the  dance  these  two  men  will  get  up  from 
the  group  of  men  watching  dance  and  each  one,  taking  a  fire- 
stick,  will  give  it  to  his  wife,  who  is  amongst  the  dancers.  She 
knows  what  this  means,  and  retires  to  some  distance.  Then  the 
two  men  return  to  main  group  and,  each  going  behind  man  to 
whom  he  desires  to  show  attention,  lifts  him  up  by  his  elbows 
and  informs  him  of  his  intention.  The  exchange  or  lending  is 
merely  a  temporary  one,  and  in  this  instance  only  takes  place  be- 
tween those  who  are  Unawa  to  each  other,  p.  267.  When  visiting 
distant  groups,  where,  in  all  likelihood,  a  husband  has  no  Piraun- 
garu, customary  for  other  men  of  his  own  class  to  offer  him  loan 
of  one  or  more  of  their  Nupa  women,  and  a  man,  besides  lending 
a  woman  over  whom  he  has  first  right,  will  also  lend  his  Piraun- 
garu. p.  63.  During  an  important  corroboree,  every  day  two  or 
three  women  are  told  off  to  attend  at  the  corroboree  ground,  and, 
with  exception  of  men  who  stand  in  relation  to  them  of  actual 
father,  brother,  or  son,  they  are,  for  time  being,  common  prop- 


124  The  Family 

erty  to  all  the  men  present,  p.  97.  In  Urabunna  tribe,  usual  to 
send  as  messengers,  when  summoning  distant  groups,  a  man  and 
a  woman,  or  sometimes  two  pairs,  who  are  Piraungaru  to 
each  other.  After  men  have  delivered  their  message,  they 
take  the  women  out  a  short  distance  from  camp,  where 
they  leave  them.  If  the  members  of  the  group  decide  to 
comply  with  their  request  all  men,  irrespective  of  class, 
have  access  to  the  women,  otherwise  the  latter  are  not 
visited.  Similarly,  when  a  party  of  men  intent  on  vengeance 
comes  near  to  the  strange  camp  of  which  they  intend  to  kill 
some  member,  the  use  of  women  may  be  offered  to  them.  If 
they  be  accepted,  then  the  quarrel  is  at  an  end,  as  acceptance  of 
this  favour  is  a  sign  of  friendship.  To  accept  favour  and  then 
not  to  comply  with  desire  of  people  offering  it  would  be  a 
gross  breach  of  tribal  custom,  pp.  97-98. 

When  a  girl  arrives  at  marriageable  age,  man  to  whom  she  has 
been  allotted  speaks  to  his  Unkulla  man,  and  they,  together 
with  men  who  are  Unkulla  and  Unawa  to  girl,  but  not  including 
her  future  husband,  take  her  out  into  the  bush,  and  there  per- 
form operation  called  Atna-ariltha-kutna  (atna^  vulva ;  kuma^ 
cut).  When  the  operation  has  been  performed  the  men  have 
access  to  her.  The  bride's  head  is  decorated  with  headbands 
and  tufts  of  the  tail  tips  of  the  rabbit-bandikoot,  the  neck  with 
necklaces,  the  arms  with  bands  of  fur  string,  and  her  body  is 
painted  all  over  with  a  mixture  of  fat  and  red  ochre.  She  is  then 
taken  to  the  camp  of  her  special  Unawa.  On  the  day  following 
the  husband  will  most  likely,  though  there  is  no  obligation  for 
him  to  do  so,  send  her  to  the  same  men,  and  after  that  she 
becomes  his  special  wife,  to  whom  no  one  else  has  right  of 
access,  pp.  92-93. 

Point  Barrow  Eskimo  : 

Promiscuous  sexual  intercourse  between  married  or  unmar- 
ried people  or  even  among  children  appears  to  be  looked  upon 
simply  as  matter  for  amusement,  p.  419.  At  Repulse  Bay  at 
certain  times  there  is  a  general  exchange  of  wives  throughout  the 
village,  each  woman  passing  from  man  to  man  till  she  has  been 
through  hands  of  all,  and  finally  returns  to  her  husband,  p.  413. 
In  one  case  a  man  borrowed  his  cousin's  wife  to  go  deer-hunting 
with  him,  as  she  was  a  good  shot  and  a  good  hand  at  deer- 


Sexual  Relations  Exclusive  of  Marriage  125 

hunting,  while  his  own  wife  went  with  his  cousin  on  a  trading 
expedition.  On  their  return  the  wives  went  back  to  their  respec- 
tive husbands,  p.  413.  When  a  couple  are  more  pleased  with 
their  new  mates  than  the  old,  exchange  is  made  permanent. 
P-  413. 

Behring  Strait  Eskimo  : 

During  "  asking  "  festival  any  man  had  a  right  to  ask  an  un- 
married woman  to  spend  the  night  with  him.  p.  360.  Frequently 
a  man  enjoys  rights  of  a  husband  before  living  regularly  with 
woman  he  takes  for  a  wife,  unmarried  women  being  considered 
free  to  suit  themselves,  p.  292. 

A  husband  may  beat  an  unfaithful  wife.  He  rarely  avenges 
himself  on  man  concerned,  p.   292. 

Common  custom  for  two  men  living  in  different  villages  to 
enter  into  a  covenant  of  brotherhood.  The  host  then  lends 
his  wife  to  the  visiting  brother,  and  neither  family  knows  who 
is  the  father  of  the  children,  p.  292 

Central  Eskimo  : 

A  man  may  lend  his  wife  to  a  friend  for  a  whole  season  or  even 
longer,  and  men  exchange  wives  in  sign  of  friendship,  p.  579. 
Visiting  strangers  receive  a  wife  if  host  happens  to  have  more 
than  one.  p.  581. 

At  the  autumn  religious  festival  held  to  drive  away  evil  spirits 
men  and  women  are  paired  indiscriminately]  and  for  a  day  and 
night  live  in  hut  of  woman  as  man  and  wife.    p.  605. 

WVANDOTS  : 

A  maiden  guilty  of  unchastity  may  be  punished  by  mother  or 
female  guardian,  but  if  crime  is  flagrant  and  repeated  so  that  it 
become  a  matter  of  general  gossip  and  mother  fails  to  correct  it, 
matter  may  be  taken  up  by  clan  council  women,  p.  66. 

An  adulteress  for  first  offense  has  her  hair  cropped,  for  re- 
peated offenses  her  left  ear  cut  off.  p.  64. 

Melanesians  : 

The  giver  of  a  feast,  one  of  the  great  men,  decides  whether  or 
not  sexual  license  is  to  prevail,  p.  27.  New  Hebrides  :  An  al- 
lowed custom  for  men  to  carry  off  women  who  listen  to  singing  at 
an  initiation  into  the  secret  society  of  gatu,  and  ravish  them.  p.  87. 


126  The  Family 

Probably  no  place  in  which  common  opinion  approves  the  in- 
tercourse of  unmarried  girls  and  youths,  though  it  allows  it  as  a 
thing  to  be  expected  and  excused,  p.  23.  In  every  island  female 
chastity  depended  more  or  less  upon  whether  family  was  consid- 
ered respectable  or  not.  pp.  236-237.  Saa  :  A  girl  of  a  chief's 
family,  if  found  pregnant,  would  be  killed  unless  her  paramour 
could  pay  enough  for  her  to  become  his  wife.  p.  235.  Virginity 
lacking,  groom's  friends  will  not  pay  what  they  promised,  p.  239. 
Florida  :  A  newly-married  husband  would  often  beat  his  wife  to 
make  her  confess  who  her  lover  had  been  before  marriage.  In 
this  circumstance  and  when  husband  observes  that  wife  avoids  a 
given  man  (indicating  that  he  has  been  her  lover)  he  demands 
money  from  him,  and  when  that  is  paid,  no  more  notice  taken  ot 
matter.  If  money  were  refused,  a  quarrel  would  follow,  pp. 
242-243.     Bastards  generally  very  rare. 

Formerly  adulterer  punished  by  death,  but  punishment  very 
generally  mitigated  on  payment  of  a  fine.  Saa :  Adulteress 
dismissed  and  paramour  punished  with  death,  exile,  or  fines. 
Friends  of  husband  and  paramour  will  often  fight  about 
damages  to  be  exacted.  Banks'  Isls.  and  Northern  New  He- 
brides :  Man  shot  or  clubbed  by  husband  or  friends  in  first 
indignation  and  wife  beaten,  scolded  and  threatened  with  death, 
but  compromise  very  generally  effected  by  payment  of  money 
and  pigs.  p.  243.  Motlav :  Believed  that  a  man  given  to 
adultery — among  other  crimes — is  not  allowed  to  enter  Panoi, 
Paradise,  p.  274. 

Little  doubt  that  sexual  hospitality  once  common  everywhere. 
Denied  that  it  is  now  practised  in  Solomon  and  Banks'  Isls.  Not 
denied  in  Northern  New  Hebrides,  p.  24. 

Florida  :  For  adultery  or  fornication  within  kin  division,  a 
woman  would  be  appropriated  by  the  chief.  She  lived  in  one  of 
his  houses  and  most  of  her  earnings  would  be  his.  She  was  not 
particularly  despised,  but  no  one  would  go  near  her  or  talk  to  her 
without  cause.  When  she  had  accumulated  porpoise  teeth  and 
money  she  would  be  allowed  to  marry.  Wango  :  Girls  got 
money  privately  before  marriage  by  prostitution  ;  also  a  class  of 
unmarried  girls  and  widows  as  prostitutes.  Saa  :  A  girl  not  of 
a  chief's  family  might  become  a  prostitute  if  not  married  by  her 
lover.     Sometimes  a  man  allows  his  daughter  to  become  a  prosti- 


Sexual  Relations  Exclusive  of  Marriage   127 

tute  to  gain  money.  But  such  a  one  is  thought  a  low  character 
and  will  have  little  given  for  her  if  she  is  married.  Santa  Cruz 
Isls. :  Public  courtesans.  Banks'  Isls.  and  Northern  New  Heb- 
rides :     Public  prostitutes  unknown,  pp.  235-236. 

Ewe-Speaking  Peoples  : 

Penalty  for  seduction  the  payment  of  amount  of  head-money 
that  would  have  been  demanded,  and  marriage  ;  or  a  heavy 
fine  without  marriage,  with  alternative  of  enslavement.  If  woman 
seduced  be  a  slave,  seducer  must  pay  a  fine  to  her  owner.  If 
seducer  be  a  slave,  his  owner  must  always  pay  compensation  to 
girl's  family,  and  if  it  be  a  family  of  rank,  slave-seducer  ordi- 
narily put  to  death,  p.  202.  If  tokens  of  virginity  are  found 
wanting,  a  bridegroom  may  repudiate  bride  and  recover  from  her 
family  his  head-money,  p.  201. 

In  theory  adultery  punished  by  death  ;  but  all  capital  crimes 
may  be  compromised  by  persons  of  wealth  by  paying  indemnities, 
p.  223.  Prior  to  1818  Amazon  army  of  Dahomi  being  made  up 
chiefly  of  criminals,  adulterous  wives  drafted  into  it.  p.  183.  In 
Dahomi,  adultery  is,  in  theory,  punished  by  death  or  slavery. 
Among  other  tribes,  except  in  extreme  cases,  by  fine,  chiefs  hav- 
ing the  privilege,  rarely  exercised,  of  putting  to  death.  Fine 
varies  according  to  husband's  rank.  If  paramour  cannot  pay, 
husband  may  enslave  him.  If  he  be  a  slave,  husband  recovers 
from  his  owner,  and  if  wife  be  a  woman  of  rank  slave-paramour 
put  to  death.  If  husband  agree,  paramour  may  take  adulterous 
wife,  refunding  to  husband  head-money  and  all  expenses  incurred 
in  her  behalf,  pp.  202-203.  An  offense  punishable  by  fine  to  praise 
beauty  of  another  man's  wife,  it  being  considered  adultery  by 
implication,  p.  204. 

Wife-lending  practised  and  wife  has  no  right  to  refuse,  p.  202. 

Most  gods  have  women  consecrated  to  their  service  as  "  wives." 
Their  chief  business  is  prostitution.  God  Khebioso  said  to  have 
1500  in  Dahomi  alone,  p.  38.  God  Danh-gbi  has  proba- 
bly 2000.  Married  to  him  secretly  in  his  temple,  the  priests 
consummating  union,  p.  60.  In  Dahomi  estimated  that  every 
fourth  woman  is  in  service  of  gods.  p.  139.  In  every  town  at 
least  one  religious  institution  in  which  best-looking  girls,  between 
lo  and  12,  received.  Remain  3  years  prostituting  themselves  to 
priests  and  inmates  ot  male  seminaries,  at  end  of  novitiate  be- 


128  The  Family- 

coming  public  prostitutes,  not  confining  themselves,  except  theo- 
retically, to  male  worshippers  in  temples.  In  Dahomi  distinction 
between  female  servants  of  temple  or  priestesses  and  temple 
prostitutes  {Kosio).  Latter  obliged  to  confine  themselves  to  cer- 
tain localities  ;  pay  an  annual  tax  to  king  ;  price  of  their  favours 
fixed  by  law  and  very  small,  p,  141,  Vodu-vio,  god-claimed  chil- 
dren, may  marry,  but  their  husbands  may  not  punish  them  for 
excesses  when  they  are  god-inspired,  p.  142.  Married  women 
as  well  as  others  may  simulate  possession  by  god  Danh-gbi 
being  forbidden  during  novitiate  to  enter  their  husbands'  houses, 
pp.  148-149. 

Tshi-Speaking  Peoples  : 

Violation  of  mere  children  by  men  is  only  too  common  on  the 
Gold  Coast,  p.  94.  Family  tutelary  deities  the  special  protectors 
of  chastity  of  girls  before  puberty.  Family  deity  appoints  a 
spirit  to  walk  behind  each  girl.  At  puberty  its  duties  end.  Bar- 
renness commonly  believed  to  be  due  to  sexual  intercourse  before 
puberty,  p.  94.  An  unmarried  girl  expected  to  be  chaste  because 
virginity  possesses  a  marketable  value.  Were  she  unchaste  her 
parents  would  receive  little  or  perhaps  no  head-money  for  her.  If 
groom  discovers  that  bride  has  been  unchaste  he  can  repudiate 
her  and  recover  head-money  and  marriage  expenses,  pp.  286,  282. 
A  seducer  of  a  virgin  compelled  to  marry  her,  or,  if  her  parents 
will  not  consent,  to  pay  amount  of  head-money.  In  latter  case, 
her  marketable  value  having  been  received,  any  excesses  on  her 
part  overlooked,  p.  286. 

Adulterous  wife  punished  by  beating  by  husband,  p.  201. 
Paramour  fined  or,  if  unable  to  pay,  enslaved.  If  a  slave,  his 
owner  must  pay  fine.  In  Ashanti  a  chief  has  right  to  put  to 
death  an  adulterous  wife.  This  right  seldom  exercised  except 
where  paramour  is  a  slave  in  the  house.  Usual  for  husband  to 
allow  her  family  to  redeem  her.  When  wife  belongs  to  too  pow- 
erful a  family  to  admit  of  husband  putting  her  to  death,  in  an 
extreme  case  he  usually  cuts  off  her  nose.  pp.  282-283.  Paramour 
may  with  husband's  consent  keep  the  woman,  paying  original 
head-money  and  all  expenses  incurred  for  her  before  and  after 
marriage.  Woman  then  cannot  separate  from  her  second  husband 
before  paying  him  this  sum.  If  she  die,  her  family  become  re^ 
sponsible  for  it.     They  may   substitute   another  woman  upon 


Sexual  Relations  Exclusive  of  Marriage   129 

whom  debt  devolves,  pp.  283-284.  A  husband  suspicious  of  wife's 
fidelity  obtains  from  priest  certain  mystical  leaves  which  he  mixes 
in  water  in  his  wife's  presence.  She  has  to  dip  her  hand  into 
this  and  then  plunge  it  into  boiling  oil.  If  guilty,  she  is  scalded. 
Accused  woman  may  also  be  taken  before  a  priest  who  gives 
her  a  decoction  of  odum  wood  to  drink.  This  draught  supposed 
to  have  power  of  bursting  her  belly  if  she  be  guilty,    p.  201. 

Wife-lending  practised.  Wives  of  chiefs  frequently  instigated 
by  their  husbands  to  intrigue  with  other  men  that  husbands  may 
profit  from  resulting  fine  or  enslavement.  This  was  a  common 
mode  of  entrapping  youths  for  the  slave  trade,     pp.  286,  282-283. 

Priests  marry,  but  priestesses  do  not,  for  they  belong  to  the 
gods  they  serve.  But  they  are  unrestricted  in  sexual  intercourse. 
A  priestess  may  send  for  any  man  she  fancies  to  live  with  her  and 
he  does  not  dare  refuse  her.  Some  have  as  many  as  six  in  their 
train  at  once.  pp.  121-122. 

Yoruba-Speaking  Peoples  : 

"  Tokens  of  virginity  "  carried  to  bride's  parents  by  a  relation 
of  groom,  pp.  153-154.  Virginity  in  bride  only  of  paramount 
importance  when  a  girl  has  been  betrothed  in  childhood,  p.  154. 
Then  lack  of  it  is  ground  for  repudiation,  groom  sending  a  few 
broken  cowries  to  her  mother.  Her  family  must  return  bride- 
price  and  presents.  More  usual  for  a  compromise  to  be  effected. 
Unless  betrothed  or  married,  a  girl  can  lead  any  life  she  choose 
without  incurring  reproach  or  injuring  her  marriage  prospects. 
Most  girls  have  lovers  in  secret,   pp.  183,  184,  185. 

Adultery  in  a  wife  is  punishable  by  death  or  divorce;  but  as  a 
rule  husband  beats  her  and  recovers  damages  from  paramour. 
In  extreme  case  when  the  husband  is  a  man  of  rank  he  some- 
times puts  both  to  death,  p.  186. 

Men  sometimes  lend  their  wives  to  guests  and  friends,  more 
frequently  their  concubines,  p.  182. 

On  feast  days  of  Odudna,  goddess  of  love,  women  abandon 
themselves  indiscriminately  to  male  worshippers  at  her  temple  at 
Ado.  p.  43.  At  annual  festival  of  Orisha  Oko,  god  of  fertility, 
priestesses  abandon  themselves  indiscriminately  to  male  worship- 
pers and  theoretically  every  man  has  a  right  to  sexual  intercourse 
with  every  woman  he  may  meet  abroad.     Practically  this  applies 


130  The  Family 

only  to  slave  girls  or  women  of  lowest  order  and  then  only  with 
their  consent,  p.  78. 

Thompson  River  Indians  : 

The  man  who  cut  or  loosed  one  string  of  the  lacing  which  cov- 
ered a  maiden's  breast,  cut  her  breech  cloth  or  lay  down  beside 
her,  had  to  marry  her  ;  and  she  at  once  became  his  recognised 
wife  without  further  ceremony,  p.  324. 

Constancy  in  woman  highly  valued  and  expected  by  a  man  of 
his  wife.  When  a  woman  committed  adultery  for  first  time  or 
thought  to  have  done  so,  her  husband  cut  off  one  braid  of  her 
hair  close  to  her  head.  This  made  her  a  mark  of  ridicule  to  all 
the  tribe  and  she  was  greatly  ashamed.  If  she  did  so  again,  her 
paramour  generally  shot  by  husband,  and  she  herself  either  killed 
or  divorced,   p.  326. 

Kabyles  : 

Pregnancy  of  unmarried  girl,  of  widow  or  woman  seeking 
asylum  with  parents  considered  a  family  disgrace  and  public 
misfortune.  Father  fined  and  woman  stoned.  Tikichowt.  If 
a  man  has  relations  with  a  girl  in  her  father's  house  and  then 
marries  her,  father  fined  10  reals  and  an  ox.  iii.,  77.  Ait 
Mahmoud.  A  woman  becoming  pregnant  without  being  married, 
put  to  death.  If  her  relatives  refuse  to  allow  this,  they  are  fined 
50  reals.  He  who  has  intimate  relation  with  his  wife  before  he 
has  solemnly  conducted  her  to  his  home,  pays  to  village  a  fine 
equal  to  ihdmamth.  If  he  enters  the  woman's  house  unauthorized 
by  her  relatives,  he  pays  5  reals,  iii.,  433.  Ait  Flik.  If  a  woman 
becomes  pregnant  out  of  wedlock,  her  relatives  ought  to  kill  her. 
They  are  not  subject  to  fine  for  doing  so.     iii.,  435. 

Akbil,  village  of  Agouni-n-Tesellent.  He  who  kills  a  man  hav- 
ing relations  with  his  wife,  daughter,  sister,  aunt,  etc.,  pays  no  fine. 
But  among  many  tribes  although  a  man  may  be  forced  either  to 
pay  fine  falling  upon  an  adulterous  wife  or  to  repudiate  her,  yet 
if  he  kills  seducer  he  is  subject  to  the  rek'ba.  Certain  tribes, 
however,  have  suppressed  the  rek'ba  in  this  case  and  substituted 
the  dia,  or  composition  money  for  it.  Village  council  in  some 
cases  exiles  seducer.  In  some  fines  him.  Seubkha  fine  him  20 
reals  and  he  has  also  to  pay  400  to  husband.  Husband  may  kill 
guilty  wife,  but  seldom  done.     In  important  families  she  is  re- 


Sexual  Relations  Exclusive  of  Marriage  131 

turned  ignominiously  to  her  family,  but  as  a  rule  husband  allows 
her  to  remarry  and  receives  thdmamth  from  her  new  possessor, 
iii.,  74-75.  Ai't-el-Ader.  Seducer  pays  husband  whatever  latter 
exacts.  Ait  Yala,  Property  of  seducer  confiscated  by  village 
council,  which  retains  40  reals  and  gives  rest  to  injured  husband. 
Cheurfa,  etc.  Seducer  pays  500  reals  to  husband  to  be  allowed 
to  marry  woman  and  leaves  the  country  with  her.  iii.,  89-90. 
Akbil,  etc.  For  adultery  in  time  of  war,  a  fine  of  100  reals  and 
exile  for  one  year,  in  time  of  peace  50  reals  and  exile  for  one 
year.  If  a  man's  wife  commit  adultery  and  he  for  revenge, 
commit  adultery  with  wife  of  seducer,  he  is  fined  100  reals,    iii., 

371. 

Ait  Yala.  The  rapist  pays  father  value  of  thdmamth  and  village 
council  a  fine  of  25  douros.  In  case  of  rape  value  of  thdmamth 
almost  always  forfeit  to  father.  Subsequent  marriage  generally 
prohibited  between  rapist  and  girl,  iii.,  80-90.  Ait  Aissa.  He 
is  obliged  to  marry  her,  giving  thdmamth  that  she  is  worth,  iii., 
405.  Cheurfa,  etc.  He  who  violates  or  attempts  to  violate  a  woman 
pays  30  reals,  if  woman  consents  5  reals.  If  he  carries  her  off, 
he  pays  30  reals  to  her  proprietor  and  is  fined  10  reals,  iii.,  333. 
Illiten,  village  of  Tifilkout.  He  who  violates  a  woman  pays  a  fine 
of  100  reals  and  his  house  is  torn  down.  If  woman  has  consented, 
each  pays  100  reals,  iii.   430. 

Ancient  Arabs  : 

Against  those  of  your  women  who  commit  adultery,  call  wit- 
nesses four  in  number  from  among  yourselves,  and  if  these  bear 
witness,  then  keep  the  women  in  houses  until  death  release  them, 
or  God  shall  make  for  them  a  way.  iv.,  19.  But  whosoever  of 
you  cannot  go  the  length  of  marrying  marriageable  women  who 
believe,  then  take  of  what  your  right  hands  possess,  of  your 
maidens  who  believe  ; — though  God  knows  best  about  your  faith* 
.  .  .  Then  marry  them  with  the  permission  of  their  people 
and  give  them  their  hire  in  reason,  they  being  chaste  and  not  for- 
nicating, and  not  receivers  of  paramours.  .  .  .  But  when  they 
are  married,  if  they  commit  fornication,  then  inflict  upon  them 
half  the  penalty  for  married  women,  that  is  for  whomsoever  of 
you  fears  wrong;  but  that  ye  should  have  patience  is  better  for 
you,  and  God  is  forgiving  and  merciful,  iv.,  29-30.  O  ye  who 
believe  !  it  is  not  lawful  for  you  to  inherit  women's  estates  against 


^32  The  Family 

their  will;  nor  to  hinder  them  [from  marrying  again],  that  ye  may 
go  off  with  part  of  what  ye  brought  them,  unless  they  commit 
fornication,  iv.,  22. 

Ancient  Hebrews: 

Simeon  and  Levi,  Jacob's  sons,  kill  all  the  men  of  the  city  of 
Shechem  because  Shechem  had  violated  their  sister.  They  were 
not  placated  by  his  desire  and  offer  to  marry  her,  giving  never  so 
much  dowry  and  gift  for  her.  Gen.  xxxiv.  Tamar  had  been 
married  successively  to  Judah's  two  sons.  Judah  had  instructed 
her  to  live  in  her  father's  house  as  a  widow  until  the  third  son 
might  be  of  an  age  to  marry  her.  While  there  he  hears  that  she 
is  pregnant  and  he  says  :  Bring  her  forth  and  let  her  be  burnt. 
Gen.  xxviii. 

Thou  shalt  not  commit  adultery.  Ex.  xx.,  14.  Also  Lev.  xviii, 
20.  The  adulterer  and  the  adulteress  shall  surely  be  put  to  death. 
lb.  xx.,  ID.     Also  Deut.  xxii.,  22. 

Gilead  begat  Jephthah  by  a  harlot.  And  Gilead's  sons  by  his 
wife  thrust  out  Jephthah,  and  said  unto  him,  Thou  shalt  not 
inherit  in  our  father's  house  ;  for  thou  art  the  son  of  a  strange 
woman.  Judges  xi.,  1-2.  King  David  committed  adultery  with 
Bathsheba,  Uriah's  wife.  But  this  thing  displeased  the  Lord,  and 
he  struck  the  child  that  Bathsheba  bare  unto  David,  and  it  died. 
2  Sam.  xi.,  4,  27;  xii.,  15,  18. 

Absalom  kills  his  half-brother  Amnon  for  having  violated  his 
sister  Tamar.  2  Sam.  xiii.,  32.  If  any  man  take  a  wife,  .  .  .  and 
hate  her,  and  give  occasions  of  speech  against  her,  and  bring  up 
an  evil  name  upon  her,  and  say,  I  took  this  woman,  and  when  I 
came  to  her,  I  found  her  not  a  maid  :  then  shall  the  father  of  the 
damsel,  and  her  mother,  take  and  bring  forth  the  tokens  of  the 
damsel's  virginity  unto  the  elders  of  the  city  in  the  gate:  .  . 
And  they  shall  spread  the  cloth  before  the  elders  of  the  city.  And 
the  elders  of  that  city  shall  take  that  man  and  chastise  him  ;  and 
they  shall  amerce  him  in  an  hundred  shekels  of  silver  and  give 
them  unto  the  father  of  the  damsel,  because  he  hath  brought  up 
an  evil  name  upon  a  virgin  of  Israel  ;  and  she  shall  be  his  wife; 
he  may  not  put  her  away  all  his  days.  But  if  this  thing  be  true, 
and  the  tokens  of  virginity  be  not  found  for  the  damsel  :  then 
they  shall  bring  out  the  damsel  to  the  door  of  her  father's  house, 
and  the  men  of  her  city  shall  stone  her  with  stones  that  she  die. 


Sexual  Relations  Exclusive  of  Marriage  133 

because  she  hath  wrought  folly  in  Israel,  to  play  the  whore  in  her 
father's  house  :  so  shalt  thou  put  evil  away  from  among  you. 
Deut.  xxii,,  13-21.  If  a  damsel  that  is  a  virgin  be  betrothed  unto 
an  husband,  and  a  man  find  her  in  the  city  and  lie  with  her;  then 
ye  shall  bring  them  both  out  unto  the  gate  of  that  city,  and  ye 
shall  stone  them  with  stones  that  they  die;  the  damsel,  because  she 
cried  not,  being  in  the  city  ;  and  the  man,  because  he  hath 
humbled  his  neighbour's  wife  :  .  .  .  But  if  a  man  find  a  betrothed 
damsel  in  the  field,  .  .  .  the  man  only  shall  die,  .  .  .  the  be- 
trothed damsel  cried,  but  there  was  none  to  save  her.  ...  If 
the  virgin  be  not  betrothed,  then  the  man  shall  give  unto  her 
father  50  shekels  of  silver,  and  she  shall  be  his  wife  ;  because  he 
hath  humbled  her,  and  he  may  not  put  her  away  all  his  days.  lb. 
xxii.,  23-29.  If  the  maiden  is  a  bondmaid,  betrothed  to  an  hus- 
band, and  not  at  all  redeemed,  nor  freedom  given  her,  she  shall 
be  scourged  ;  they  shall  not  be  put  to  death,  because  she  was  not 
free.  Lev.  xix.,  20.  If  a  man  entice  a  maiden  that  is  not  be- 
trothed, ...  he  shall  surely  endow  her  to  be  his  wife.  If  her 
father  utterly  refuse  to  give  her  unto  him,  he  shall  pay  money 
according  to  the  dowry  of  virgins.  Ex.  xxii.,  16-17.  If  the 
daughter  of  a  priest  profane  herself  by  playing  the  whore,  she 
profaneth  her  father;  he  shall  be  burnt  with  fire.  Lev.  xxi,9.  When 
Judah  saw  his  daughter-in-law  Tamar  sitting  by  the  way- 
side wearing  a  veil  he  thought  her  to  be  a  harlot ;  because  she 
had  covered  her  face.  He  offered  her  a  kid  from  the  flock  for 
entertaining  him.  Gen.  xxxviii.,  14-21.  See  Deut.  xxiii.,  17-18 
Samson  visits  a  harlot  of  the  Gazites.  Judges  xvi.,  i. 

Babylonians  : 

If  the  wife  of  a  man  be  taken  in  lying  with  another  man,  they 
shall  bind  them  and  throw  them  into  the  water.  If  the  husband 
would  save  her,  or  if  the  king  would  save  his  male  servant  (he 
may).  §  129.  If  a  man  accuse  his  wife  and  she  has  not  been 
taken  in  lying  with  another  man,  she  shall  take  an  oath  in  the 
name  of  god  and  she  shall  return  to  her  house.  §  131.  If  the 
finger  have  been  pointed  at  the  wife  of  a  man  because  of  another 
man,  and  she  have  not  been  taken  in  lying  with  another  man,  for 
her  husband's  sake  she  shall  throw  herself  into  the  river.  §  132. 

If  a  man  force  the  (betrothed)  wife  of  another  who  has  not 
known  a  male  and  is  living  in  her  father's  house,  and  he  lie  in  her 


134  The  Family 

bosom  and  they  take  him,  that  man  shall  be  put  to  death  and  that 
woman  shall  go  free.  §  130. 

Ancient  Hindus  : 

Defiling  a  damsel  is  a  minor  offense  causing  loss  of  caste,  xi., 
62,  67.  If  any  man  through  insolence  forcibly  contaminates  a 
maiden,  two  of  his  fingers  shall  be  instantly  cut  off  and  he  shall 
pay  a  fine  of  600  panas.  A  Brahmana  violating  an  unwilling, 
guarded  Brahmani  shall  be  fined  1000  panas.  viii.,  367,  378.  A 
man  of  equal  caste  defiling  a  willing  maiden  shall  be  fined  200 
panas  to  deter  him  from  a  repetition  of  the  offense.  In  case  of 
a  Brahmana  and  a  willing  Brahmani,  he  shall  be  fined  500  panas. 
viii.,  368, 378,  He  who  gives  a  damsel  in  marriage,  having  openly 
declared  her  blemishes — insanity,  leprosy,  loss  of  virginity,  — '\s  not 
liable  to  punishment,  viii.,  205.  Otherwise  he  shall  be  fined  96 
panas  by  the  king.  The  bridegroom  may  repudiate  the  bride  if 
not  forewarned  of  her  blemishes,  ix.,  72-73.  The  nuptial  texts  are 
applied  solely  to  virgins,  for  females  who  have  lost  their  virginity 
are  excluded  from  religious  ceremonies,  viii.,  226-227. 

Adultery  is  a  minor  offense  causing  loss  of  caste,  xi.,  60,  67.  In 
this  world  there  is  nothing  so  detrimental  to  long  life  as  criminal 
conversation  with  another  man's  wife,  iv.,  134.  An  adulterer  will 
have  swellings  of  his  limbs,  xi.,  5  2.  For  adultery  with  the  wife  of  a 
guru  (Veda  teacher)  and  failure  to  perform  the  prescribed  penance, 
a  man  shall  be  branded  on  the  forehead  with  the  mark  of  a  female 
part  by  the  king  and  cast  off  by  his  relatives,  ix.,  237,  239.  The 
violator  of  a  guru's  bed  enters  a  hundred  times  the  forms  of  grasses, 
shrubs,  and  creepers,  likewise  of  carnivorous  animals  and  of 
beasts  with  fangs  and  those  doing  cruel  deeds,  xii.,  58,  60.  Men 
who  commit  adultery  with  the  wives  of  others,  the  king  shall  cause 
to  be  marked  by  punishments  which  cause  terror,  and  afterwards 
banish.  For  adultery  causes  a  mixture  of  castes.  A  man  who  is 
not  a  Brahmana  ought  to  suffer  death  for  adultery;  for  the  wives 
of  all  the  four  castes  even  must  always  be  carefully  guarded. 
Adulterous  acts  are  addressing  another  man's  wife  at  a  Tirtha, 
outside  the  village,  in  the  forest,  or  at  the  confluence  of  rivers, 
offering  her  presents,  touching  her  ornaments  and  dress.  A  man 
formerly  accused  of  adultery,  who  secretly  convenes  with  another's 
wife,  shall  pay  the  minimum  fine.  No  man  shall  converse  with 
the  wives  of  others  after  he  has  been  forbidden  to  do  so,  on  pen- 


Sexual  Relations  Exclusive  of  Marriage  135 

alty  of  a  fine  of  one  suvarna.  This  rule  does  not  apply  to  the 
wives  of  actors  and  singers,  nor  of  those  who  live  on  the  intrigues 
of  their  own  wives,  viii.,  352-362.  "  Let  mutual  fidelity  continue 
unto  death,"  this  is  the  epitome  of  the  highest  law  for  husband  and 
wife,  ix.,  loi.  Also  102-103.  He  in  whose  house  a  paramour  of  his 
wife  resides,  the  son  of  an  adulteress,  the  son  of  a  widow,  the  son 
of  a  remarried  woman,  he  who  eats  food  given  by  the  son  of  an 
adulteress,  must  be  avoided,  iii.,  155-156,  158, 161.  An  adulterous 
wife  throws  her  guilt  on  her  negligent  husband,  viii.,  317.  For 
killing  adulterous  women  of  the  four  castes,  a  Brahmana  must 
give,  to  purify  himself,  to  a  Brahmana,  respectively,  a  leathern 
bag,  a  bow,  a  goat,  or  a  sheep,  xi.,  139.  An  exceedingly  corrupt 
wife  let  her  husband  confine  to  one  apartment  and  compel  her  to 
perform  the  penance  which  is  prescribed  for  males  in  cases  of 
adultery,  xi.,  177-178.  She  who  cohabits  with  a  man  of  higher 
caste,  forsaking  her  own  husband  who  belongs  to  a  lower  one 
will  become  contemptible  in  this  world,  v.,  163. 

Libations  of  water  shall  not  be  offered  to  women  who  through 
lust  live  with  many  men.  v.,  90.  A  Brahmana  may  not  accept 
presents  from  those  who  subsist  by  the  gain  of  prostitutes.  Food 
accepted  from  harlots  excludes  him  from  the  higher  worlds,  iv., 
84,  219.  Clever  harlots  are  among  those  to  be  punished  by  the 
king,  ix.,  259. 

Ancient  Romans  : 

For  seduction,  without  violence,  of  a  virgin  or  widow  of  good 
morals,  a  penalty  on  persons  of  honourable  condition  of  confisca- 
tion of  half  their  property  ;  for  persons  of  low  estate,  corporal 
punishment  and  banishment  to  a  fixed  place  ;  for  the  violation  of 
a  married  woman,  death.  J.  iv.,  xviii.y  §  3.  A  respectable  woman 
who  has  been  persistently  followed,  or  against  whom  rape  has 
been  attempted,  may  bring  either  a  criminal  or  civil  action  for 
outrage  in  her  own  name.  Her  father  and  husband  who  are  held 
also  to  have  suffered  outrage  may  also  sue  in  their  own  right.  J. 
iv.,  iv.,  §  2,  §  10. 

French: 

308  (z).  A  wife  against  whom  a  separation  from  bed  and  board 
has  been  decreed  on  account  of  adultery  shall  be  sentenced  by 
the  same  judgment  and  upon  the  requisition  of  the  Public  Prose- 


136  The  Family 

cutor  to  imprisonment  in  a  House  of  Correction  during  a  stated 
time,  which  shall  not  be  less  than  three  months  and  shall  not 
exceed  two  years.  229,  230,  Husband  or  wife  (1S84)  may  sue 
for  a  divorce  on  account  of  adultery. 

314.  A  child  born  before  the  one  hundred  and  eightieth  day 
since  the  marriage  cannot  be  disowned  by  the  husband  in  the 
following  cases  :  i.  If  he  had  knowledge  of  the  pregnancy  before 
the  marriage  ;  2.  If  he  was  present  when  the  certificate  of  birth 
was  drawn  up,  and  if  such  certificate  is  signed  by  him  or  contains 
his  declaration  that  he  does  not  know  how  to  sign  ;  3.  If  it  is 
declared  that  the  child  cannot  live.  331.  Children  born  out  of 
wedlock,  other  than  those  born  of  incestuous  or  adulterous  inter- 
course, can  be  legitimated  by  the  subsequent  marriage  of  their 
father  and  mother  when  the  latter  have  lawfully  acknowledged 
them  before  the  marriage,  or  when  they  acknowledge  them  in  the 
certificate  of  celebration. 

People  of  United  States 

Concealment  of  previous  unchastity  does  not  invalidate  a  mar- 
riage. Concealment  of  pregnancy  by  another  man  at  the  time  of 
marriage  may  do  so.   §  23. 

In  divorce  for  adultery  American  policy  treats  both  sexes  alike. 
§  220  b.  Husband  who  kills  wife  or  ■p^.xjimoMxm  flagrante  delicto 
guilty  only  of  manslaughter.  §  45,  N.  5. 


LECTURE   VII 

THE  FORM  AND  DURATION  OF  MARRIAGE 

MARRIAGE  may  exist  between  one  male  and  one  Forms  of  Marriage 
female  (monogamy),  between  one  male  and 
two  or  more  females  (polygyny),  between  one  fe- 
male and  two  or  more  males  (polyandry) — each 
husband  may  also  have  more  than  one  wife, — and  be- 
tween a  group  of  males  and  a  group  of  females 
(group-marriage). 

Among  the  lower  animals  sexual  intercourse,  Among  animau 
whether  lasting  or  not  until  the  birth  of  offspring,  is 
usually  between  one  male  and  one  female ;  but,  as  we 
have  seen,  among  many  mammals  and  some  birds 
polygyny  is  found.  Polyandry  is  very  rare.  Very 
little  is  known  in  detail  about  the  matrimonial  habits 
of  animals  lower  than  man.  We  shall  therefore  turn 
at  once  to  the  forms  of  human  marriage. 

In  group-marriage  the  men  are  or  are  considered  Group-marriage 
kinsmen,  and  the  women  kinswomen.     (Where  the 
common  wives  are  not  akin,  the  marriage  is  usually 
referred    to    as   a   polygynous   type   of  polyandry.) 
Group-marriage  is,  as  a   rule,    combined    with  indi-  combined  with 

.  ...  ,  individual  marriage 

vidual  marriage — t.  e.,  mtercourse  between  one  woman 
and  one  man  may  be  usual,  and  intercourse  with  the 
other  group-husbands  or  wives  only  occasional. 

In  both  polygyny  and  polyandry  there  may  be  a  subordination m 
subordination    among    the   wives   or  husbands  to  a  polyandry 

137 


i3' 


The  Family 


Concubinage 


Concubinage  in 
legal  sense 


Causes 


Determination  of 
rank  of  wives  or 
concubines 


Superseding  of 
superior  wife 


Kinswomen  or 
slaves  as  supple* 
mentary  wives 


superior  wife  or  husband.  In  this  event  the  system 
is  frequently  known  as  female  or  male  concubinage. 
Where  this  distinction  is  made  in  polygyny,  the  posi- 
tion of  the  so-called  concubine  is  always  inferior  to  that 
of  the  wife.  In  this  sense,  in  the  monogamous  system 
of  modern  civilisation,  cohabitation  without  marriage 
ceremonial  is  also  called  concubinage.  Economic, 
political,  or  age  inequalities  or  disabilities  may,  in  a 
monogamous  system,  lead  to  concubinage  taken  in  this 
sense.  This  non-legal  relation  is,  however,  from  our 
point  of  view,  a  marriage  relation.  We  shall  also  use 
the  term  wife,  instead  of  concubine,  in  referring  to  all 
the  women  in  a  polygynous  marriage.  JB^ak  among 
the  wives  is  variously  determined.  The  superior  wife 
is  commonly  the  first  or  the  eldest  wife  ;  less  com- 
monly, the  lastly-acquired  wife.  She  may  also  be  the 
one,  as  we  have  seen,  for  whom  a  bride-price 
has  been  paid  in  distinction  to  the  wives  who 
have  been  otherwise  acquired.  She  may  be  of 
equal  rank  with  her  husband,  whereas  the  other 
wives  are  of  inferior  rank. '  The  fact  of  having 
borne  children  also  affects  the  rank  of  wives.*  The 
first  place  may  be  accorded  the  wife  who  has 
first  borne  a  child.  Again,  the  husband's  will  may 
alone  determine  the  rank  of  his  wives.  More  com- 
monly, however,  his  preference  interferes  with  a  cus- 
tomary subordination.  In  some  cases,  if  the  superior 
wife  fail  in  the  proper  performance  of  her  duties,  she 
may  be  superseded  by  an  inferior  wife.  Sometimes 
a  woman's  younger  sisters  or  female  cousins  accom- 
pany her  as  supplementary  wives.  Sometimes  she 
owns  female  slaves  whom  she  herself  presents  to  her 

*  See  p.229. 


The  Form  and  Duration  of  Marriage    139 

husband.     The  number  of  wives  maybe  restricted  or  Number  of  wive. 

•'  restricted  according 

unrestricted.      In   the  former  case,  the  number  may  to  different  classes 

vary   for  different  classes  in  the    same    community. 

The  takinor  of  a  second  wife  may  require  the  consent  Toleration  of 

o  »'  A  bigyny  under 

of  the  first,  or  it  may  be  allowed  only  when  the  first  special  conditions 
wife  is  barren,  or  has  borne  daughters  only,  or  has 
misbehaved,  or  is  diseased. 

Each  wife  may  or  may  not  have  her  own  dwelling 
or,  in  case  of  a  common  dwelling,  her  own  fireplace. 
The  wives  may  even  live  in  different  villages,  or, 
among  insular  peoples,  on  different  islands.  Their 
common  husband  may,  where  they  live  separate,  live 
with  each  in  turn,  or  he  may  live  with  the  head-wife 
and  merely  visit  the  others  as  his  business  or  fancy 
take  him  to  the  places  where  they  live.^ 

In  Nair^  polyandry,  the  wife  lives  with  her  mother  Forms  of  polyandry; 
and  male  kinsfolk,  and  is  visited  in  turn  by  her  hus- 
bands. In  Thibetan  polyandry,  the  husbands  are  Thibetan 
brothers.  The  wife  is  commonly  thought  of  as 
belonofinof  to  the  eldest  brother.  She  is  loaned  by 
him  to  the  others,  who  live  with  him.  This  is  prop- 
erly a  form  of  male  concubinage.  Sometimes  a 
younger  brother  will  act  as  a  supplementary  husband 
in  the  absence  of  the  husband  proper,  his  elder 
brother.     The   covenant    of  brotherhood  sometimes  sexuai  hospitality 

1  1  I     r  r    of  fictitious 

leads  to  practical  polyandry  as  a  developed  form  01  brotherhood 
sexual  hospitality.     Through   the    practice   of  child-  ^^^^^^^^^^ 
marriage,  where  the  husband  is  a  child  and  the  wife  polyandry 
an  adult,  her  father-in-law  may  live  with  her  until  his 
minor  son  is  grown.      Properly  speaking,  this  is  prob- 
ably not  a  polyandrous  arrangement ;  it  is  rather  an 

*  See  p.  223.  for  fuller  discussion  of  relation  of  wives  in  polygyny. 

'  Named  from  the  caste  of  that  name  living  on  the  Malabar  coast  of  India. 


Co-existence  of 
different  forms  of 
marriage 


140  The  Family 

unstable  form  of  monogamy,  as  father  and  son  are 
probably  not  the  husbands  of  the  same  woman  at  the 
same  time.     Accounts  are  uncertain  on  this  point. 

It  should  be  noted  that,  as  in  the  case  of  a  limit- 
tation  of  polygyny,  more  than  one  form  of  marriage 
may  exist  in  the  same  community  at  the  same  time. 
Polygyny,  for  example,  may  be  a  prerogative  only  of 
the  chiefs  or  rich  men  of  a  group. 
Causes  of  polygamy  Numcrlcal  disproportiou  between  the  sexes,  due  to 
female  infanticide,  religious  celibacy,  constant  war- 
fare, an  excess  of  male  births,  special  economic  con- 
ditions— e.  g.,  absence  of  men  on  hunting  or  trade 
expeditions,  etc.,  is  a  factor  in  polygamy.  Customs 
of  conjugal  abstinence  at  stated  periods  and  desire 
for  children  are  also  factors.     Economic  inequality  is, 

Primacy  of  r  1  t  1 

economic  inequality  however,  the  chlef  factor  of  polygamy.  In  the  many 
communities  where  a  chattel  character  attaches  to 
women,  inequality  in  possessions  means  inequality  in 
the  number  of  wives,  wives  being  classed  among  the 
most  valuable  forms  of  private  property.  Plurality  of 
wives  may  also  indicate  social  importance  in  com- 
munities where  other  forms  of  economic  inequality 
are  not  especially  marked.  In  polygynous  commu- 
nities, therefore,  there  is  a  tendency  for  the  poorer 
people — i.  e.,  the  great  majority  of  the  people — to  be 
monogamous.  Poverty  and  a  high  market  price  for 
wives  may  also  lead  to  polyandry. 

Termination  of  Marriage  terminates  through  death  or  separation. 

marriage  .    .  •  •         1  1    ^        f 

In  some  communities  marriage  is  thought  ot  as  con- 
widow-immoiation  tinuing  after  death,  and  widows  are  expected  to 
accompany  their  husbands  to  the  world  of  spirits.  In 
other  cases,  widows  are  not  allowed  to  remarry.  Again, 
their  families  or  second  husbands  may  be  obliged  to 


The  Form  and  Duration  of  Marriage    141 

give  the  original  bride-price  or  a  stated  amount  of 
property  or  fine  {reipus)  to  the  heirs  of  the  deceased 
husband  at  their  remarriage.  A  period  of  mourning  widow-mourning 
is  prescribed  for  widows  in  almost  all  communities, 
and  during  this  period  remarriage  is  forbidden  or 
condemned.  A  mourning  period  for  widowers,  dur- 
ing which  remarriage  is  disapproved,  is  a  more  infre- 
quent practice. 

Duration  of  marriage  in  the  lifetime  of  the  married  The  relation  be. 
persons  seems,  to  a  great  extent,  to  be  dependent  up-  J]^e"urItion°T '"'' 
on  its  form.     Where  monogamy  prevails,  it  is  often  marriage 
accompanied  by  forms  of  promiscuity  or  by  readily 
obtained  divorce.      Polygamy  satisfies,  to  a  certain 
extent,  the  desire  for  variety  to  which  transiency  of 
sexual  relationship  is  often  due.     In  this  connection 
Sir  John  Lubbock  makes  an  enlightening  distinction 
between  lax  and  brittle  marriage.     Where  an  endur- 
ing form  of  marriage  is  prescribed,  marriage  tends  to 
be/^::i: — i.  e.,  polygamous  or  accompanied  by   promis- 
cuity ;  where  separation  is  more  or  less  optional,  it 
tends  to  be  brittle. 

Incidentally,  let  us  note  here,  in  illustration  of  the  Time-marriaBe 
brittle  marriage,  so-called  time-  and  trial-m3.vn3.ges} 
In  time-marriages,  a  contract  for  marriage  for  a  stated 
time  is  made.  The  time  may  be  for  a  fixed  number 
of  days  during  the  week  (l>art-time  marriage  ^), — this 
is  a  lax  rather  than  a  brittle  arrangement, — or  for  a 
stated  continuous  period.  (Term-marriage,  hafid-fast- 
ing?)  At  the  end  of  the  stated  period,  the  relationship 
may  or  may  not  be  made  permanent.     Time-marriages 

'  We  have  already  stated  that,  strictly  speaking,  such  so-called  marriages 
are,  in  our  sense  of  the  word,  not  marriages  at  all. 
'  Particularly  associated  with  the  Hassinyeh  Arabs. 


142 


The  Family 


Trial-marriage 


Duration  of 
marriage 


Regulation  of 
divorce 


Grounds  for  divorce 


are  often  due  to  the  fact  that  the  husband  is  in  a  given 
locality  of  trade  or  war  only  during  a  limited  period. 
7>m/-marriage  is  a  variety  of  time-marriage,  it  being 
distinctly  agreed  that  the  relationship  may  be  dis- 
solved by  either  man  or  woman  at  any  time.  (Some- 
times restricted  to  any  time  prior  to  the  birth  of 
offspring.) 

Divorce  may  occur  at  the  pleasure  of  either  husband 
or  wife  ;  it  may  be  allowed  only  by  mutual  consent,  it 
may  not  be  allowed  at  all,  or  it  may  be  allowed  only 
for  certain  specified  causes.  When,  in  the  last  case, 
the  husband  divorces  his  wife  in  the  absence  of  a 
proper  cause,  he  has  commonly  to  forfeit  a  prescribed 
amount  of  property  or  to  contribute  towards  his  wife's 
support  (alimony).  The  property  forfeited  may  be 
the  wife's  dower  or  dowery.  The  absconding  wife 
may  also  have  to  forfeit  property,  or  may  cause  her 
family  to  forfeit  her  bride-price  or  an  equivalent  amount 
of  property.  She  may  also  be  forcibly  returned  to 
her  husband,  or  in  terms  of  modern  law  an  action  for 
the  restitution  of  conjugal  rights  may  be  brought 
against  her.  Penalties,  fines,  etc.,  may  be  incurred  by 
persons  harbouring  her. 

Grounds  for  divorce  differ  in  different  communities 
according  to  the  prevailing  ideas  about  the  fitting 
nature  of  conjugal  relations.  Adultery,  barrenness, 
impotence,  cruelty,  disease,  possession  by  evil  spirits, 
prolonged  absence,  failure  to  support,  laziness,  quar- 
relsomeness, are  the  most  general  grounds  of  divorce. 
In  connection  with  our  definition  of  marriage,  the  fact 
is  particularly  interesting  that  barrenness  is  an  almost 
universal  cause  for  divorce.  Again,  divorce,  after  the 
birth  of  offspring,  may  be  absolutely  prohibited.     In 


The  Form  and  Duration  of  Marriae^e    143 


&' 


a  few  cases,  on  the  other  hand,  a  wife  has  the  right 

to  leave  her  husband  after  she  has  borne  him  a  certain 

number  of  children.     Adultery  on  the  part  of  the  wife 

is  also  an  almost  universal  cause  for  divorce.     Rarely  Right  to  divorce  not 

except  under  developed  monogamy,  however,  is  adul-  ""p"""" 

tery  on  the  part  of  the  husband  a  cause  for  divorce. 

In  fact,  it  should  be  noted  that  the  right  in  general  of 

separation  and  the  ease  in  obtaining  a  separation  are 

rarely  fully  reciprocal.      It  is  shared  in  equally  by  the 

wife   only  in   very  primitive  or  in   highly  advanced 

communities,  where  the  idea  of  marital  proprietorship 

has  either  not  arisen  or  has  disappeared. 

Divorce  is  sometimes  formless  and  sometimes  pre- 
ceded by  requisite  ceremonial.  In  the  latter  case 
notice  may  have  to  be  served  by  the  one  divorcing 
upon  the  one  to  be  divorced  in  a  prescribed  way. 
Again  the  consent  of  relatives,  of  group  elders  or 
council,  of  court,  legislative  body  or  over-lord  may 
have  to  be  obtained  or  the  matter  have  to  be  pro 
forma  adjudicated  before  such  administrators  or  ad- 
ministrative or  juridical  bodies.  When  marriage  takes 
on  a  religious  character,  the  consent  of  religious  agents 
is  also,  as  a  rule,  required  or  desired. 

Divorced  persons  may  or  may  not  (limited  divorce,   Remarriage  of 

,.  ,    ,1  11  '       ^•    '    ^  •        \     divorced  persons 

divorce  a  inensa  et  thoro,  legal  or  judicial  separation) 
be  allowed  to  legally  remarry.  Permission  for  a  di_ 
vorced  wife  to  remarry  sometimes  depends  upon  the 
consent  of  the  husband  who  divorces  her.  Divorced 
persons  may  be  allowed  to  remarry  at  once,  or  they 
may  have  to  wait  for  the  lapse  of  a  fixed  time  before 
remarrying.  The  reunion  of  divorced  persons  is  some- 
times allowed  and  sometimes  forbidden,  either  un- 
der all  circumstances  or  only  in   the   lifetime    of  a 


144  The  Family 

husband  or  wife  of  a  marriage  subsequent  to  the  di- 
vorce in  question. 
Disposal  of  offspring       Divorcc  orovisions  are  sometimes  dependent  upon 

in  divorce  _  *•  ,  '■ 

the  existence  of  offspring,  e.g:,  a  husband  may  not 
be  allowed  to  repudiate  or  sell  a  wife  who  has  borne 
children.  In  case  of  divorce  offspring  may  follow  the 
mother,  going  with  her  to  her  kin  or  to  her  second 
husband,  or  they  may  remain  with  the  father,  being 
cared  for  by  his  other  wives  or  by  his  kinsfolk,  or  they 
may  live  partly  with  their  mother  and  partly  with  their 
father.  Very  young  children  go,  as  a  rule,  with  their 
mother,  sometimes  returning  to  their  father  when 
older.  Sometimes  girls  follow  their  mother,  and  boys 
their  father.  Sometimes,  again,  offspring  may  be 
divided  merely  on  a  numerical  basis,  father  or  mother, 
as  the  case  may  be,  having  the  right  to  an  odd  child. 
While  with  their  mother,  their  father  may  be  called 
upon  to  support  them.  In  case  of  older  children  the 
choice  is  sometimes  left  with  them.  Sometimes, 
again,  the  children  are  assigned  to  the  innocent  party 
in  the  divorce,  husband  or  wife,  as  the  case  may  be. 
The  advantages  to  Although  polygamy  is  undoubtedly  more  advan- 
offspring  of  taeeous  to  offspring-  than  restricted,  z.  e.  very  unstable, 

monogamy  o  ir  o  '  y  ' 

monogamy,  yet  it  probably  secures  less  parental  care 
for  offspring  than  developed  or  enduring  monogamy. 
In  marked  forms  of  concubinage,  moreover,  there  is 
usually  subordination  among  offspring,  the  children  by 
the  inferior  wife  faring  less  well  than  those  by  the  su- 
perior wife.^  There  are  not  only  more  opportunities  for 
the  undivided  and  impartial  attention  of  both  parents 
to  offspring  under  developed  monogamy,  but  the 
latter  form  of  marriage  is  alone  fitted  to  lead  to  those 

'  See  p.  94 


The  Form  and  Duration  of  Marriage    145 

relations  between  husband  and  wife  which  enable 
the  wife  to  most  fully  perform  her  function  as  a 
mother.  This  fact  will  appear  very  plain  in  a  further 
consideration  of  conjugal  relations.  First  it  will  be 
well,  however,  to  consider  certain  facts  of  sexual 
choice  which  are  not  only  significant  for  their  direct 
influence  upon  offspring,  but  also  for  their  indirect 
influence  in  their  effect  upon  conjugal  relations.  These 
facts  will  be  presented  in  the  next  lecture. 

NOTE  A 

The  Forms  of  Human  Marriage. 

Westermarck,  The  History  of  Human  Marriage,  chap.  xx. 

Post,  Grundriss,  etc.,  i.,  51-65. 

Hellwald,  Die  menschliche  Familie,  pp.  241-256  (Polyan- 
dry). 

Letourneau,  The  Evolution  of  Marriage  and  of  the  Family, 
chap.  V.  (Polyandry). 

Wilutzky,    Vorgeschichte  des  Rechts,  i.,  187-199. 

Spencer  and  Gillen,  Native  Tribes  of  Central  Australia^ 
pp.  61,  92-1 1 1  (Group-Marriage). 

Factors  in  Form  of  Marriage. 

Westermarck,  The  History  of  Human  Marriage,  chap.  xxi. 
Duration  of  Marriage. 

Ibid.,  chap,  xxiii. 

Howard,  A  History  of  Matrimonial  Institutions,  ii.,  chap.  v. 

Post,  Familienrechts,  pp.  249-265,  316-320. 

Concubinage,  Separation,  etc,  among  Working  People  in 
London. 

Booth,  Life  and  Labour,  x.,  41-46. 
Divorce  in  the  United  States. 

Wright,  A  Report  on  Marriage  and  Divorce  in  the  United 
States,  pp.  167-178  and  Table  v. 

Howard,  A  History  of  Matrimonial  Institutions,  iii.,  chap, 
xvii. 


146  The  Family 

In  England. 

Ibid.,  ii.,  chap.  xi. 
In  European  Countries. 

Wright,  A  Report  on  Marriage,  etc.,  Appendix. 
Treatment  of  Widows. 

Geza  Rev^sz,  Das   Trauerjahr  der  Witwe  in  Zt.  f.  ver- 
gleichende  Rechtswissenschaft^   xv.  (1902),    361-405. 
Time-Marriage. 

Hellwald,  Die  tJienschliche  Familie,  chap.  xxiv. 
NOTE  B 
Promiscuity  Theory: 

Hetairism,  or  unrestricted  sexual  intercourse,  was  the  origi- 
nal form  of  sexual  relations.  Bachofen,  Das  Mutterrecht, 
Basel,  1897,  pp.  xviii.,  xix.,  xx.,  10. 

Because  of  male  jealousy  and  because  of  the  monogamous 
habits  of  the  anthropoid  apes,  it  is  improbable  that  promis- 
cuity was  universal.    Darwin,  The  Descent  of  Man,  pp.  600-5. 

Group  promiscuity  confined  to  period  when  sexual  inter- 
course was  seasonal.  When  sexual  activity  was  no  longer 
restricted  to  certain  times  of  year,  women  were  captured  from 
alien  groups  and  this  practice  led  to  individual  marriage. 
Kulischer  :  Die  geschlechtliche  Zuchtwahl  bei  den  Menschen 
in  der  Urzeit,  in  Zt.  f.  Eihnologie,  viii.,  (1876),  140-157. 

Tendency  to  promiscuity  was  the  original  sexual  relation- 
ship, polyandry  being  the  first  general  modification  of  pro- 
miscuity. McLennan,  Studies  in  Ancient  History,  Sec.  series, 
London  and  New  York,  1896,  pp.  50-55.  Also  Studies  in 
Ancient  History,  London  and  New  York,  1886,  pp.  89-107. 

Individual  marriage  emerged  from  communal  marriage 
through  the  capture  of  women  from  other  groups.  Through 
marriage  by  capture  wives  became  private  property.  Lub- 
bock,  Origin  of  Civilisation,  pp .  66-84. 

lb.  Kohler,  Studien  iiber  Frauengemeinschaft,  Frauenraub 
und  Frauenkauf  in  Zt.f,  vergleichende  Rechtswissenschaft,  v., 

Communal  marriage  was  not  supplanted  by'individual  mar- 
riage through  marriage  by  capture.  Rather  marriage  by  cap- 
ture introduced  communal  marriage,  ultimately  polygyny. 
Kautsky,  Die  Entste hung  der  Ehe,  etc.,  197-198. 


The  Form  and  Duration  of  Marriage    147 

Tendency  to  promiscuity  discussed.  Hellwald,  Die 
menschliche  Familie,  chap.  viii. 

Marriage  based  on  economic  motives,  not  on  sexual  im- 
pulse. Primitive  marriage  tends  therefore  to  be  monogamous 
and  enduring,  with  husband  and  father,  head  of  household. 
Starcke,    The  Primitive  Family,  ^^^^.  254-261. 

Review  and  criticism  of  the  arguments  in  favor  of  promis- 
cuity theory.  Westermarck,  The  History  of  Human  Marriage^ 
chaps,  iv.,  v.,  and  vi. 

Analysis  of  indications  of  original  promiscuity,  or  at  least 
very  wide  marital  relations  among  the  Australians.  Spencer 
and  Gillen.  The  Native  Tribes  of  Central  Australia,  pp.  92— 
III. 

Group-Marriage: 

The  consanguine  family,  based  on  intermarriage  of  brothers 
and  sisters  own  and  collateral  in  a  group,  the  first  type  of 
marriage  and  of  family.  Punaluan  marriage,  or  marriage  of 
a  group  of  brothers  to  a  group  of  sisters,  the  second.  Mor- 
gan, Ancient  Society,  pp.  383  ff.,  401-423;  Systejns  of  Consan- 
guinity and  Affinity  of  the  Human  Family,  in  Smithsonian 
Contributions  to  Knowledge,  xwii.,  pp.  474-494,  Washington, 
1871. 

Group-marriage  or  exogamous  promiscuity  quite  distinct 
from  endogamous  or  general  promiscuity.  Evidence  of  the 
former;  the  latter  is  purely  hypothetical.  Post,  Hausge- 
nos sens chaf ten  und  Gruppenchen  in  Ausland,  1891,  p.  842. 

Totemism  leads  directly  to  group-marriage,  and  individual 
marriage  arises  from  group-marriage.  Kohler,  Zur  Urge- 
schichte  der  Ehe'va  Zt.  f.  vergleichende  Rechtswissenschaft,  xii., 
250,  326. 

Alleged  survivals  of  group-marriage.  Post,  Grundriss, 
etc.,  i.,  42-51. 

Group-marriage  is  certain  to  originate  in  a  group  charac- 
terised by  two  intermarrying  kinship  divisions,  by  the  belief 
that  sexual  intercourse  outside  of  kinship  is  natural,  and  by 
nomadic  habits.  Wake,  The  Nature  and  Origin  of  Group- 
Marriage  in  /.  A.  I.,  xiii.,  153. 

One  of  the  primitive  conditions  of  mankind.  Hewitt, 
Native  Tribes  of  South- East  Australia,  p.  281. 


h8  The  Family 

The  so-called  Australian  survivals  of  group-marriage  are 
abnormal  developments  of  sexual  hospitality  and  of  poly- 
androus  and  polygynous  tendencies.  They  have  never  been 
more  complete  than  they  are  now.  Crawley,  The  Mystic 
Rose,  pp.  475-483- 

Australian  cases  of  so-called  group-marriage  merely  in- 
st?nces  of  regulated  tribal  license.  Lang,  The  Secret  of  the 
Totem,  London,  New  York,  and  Bombay,  1905,  chap.  iii. 

NOTE  C 
Give  the  history  of  concubinage,  noting  in  particular  the 
relations  between  concubinage  (subordination  among  wives) 
and  polygyny  (equality  among  wives)  which  may  serve  to 
show  whether  the  former  precedes  or  follows  the  latter. 
Make  a  comparative  study  (i)  of  the  co-existence  in  the  same 
group  of  different  forms  of  marriage;  (2)  of  provision  for 
offspring  in  case  of  divorce.  Enumerate  polygynous  or 
polyandrous  groups,  comparing  the  prevailing  causes  of 
polygyny  or  polyandry, 

NOTE  D 
Veddahs : 

Lifelong  monogamy  prevails,  p.  458. 
Yahgan : 

There  are  men  who  have  2,  3,  or  even  4  wives,  but  usual  to 
have  only  one.  H.  &  D.,  vii.,  378.  Jealous  wives  make  it  very 
disagreeable  for  husbands.     H.  «Sr  D.,  vii.,  378-379. 

Bad  treatment  often  impels  a  young  wife  to  leave  her  husband, 
even  though  she  have  children,  vii.,  172.    Divorce  with  formality 
for  incompatibility  of  temper,   x,  335. 
Central  Australians  : 

Among  Arunta  as  soon  as  marriage  has  taken  place  man  has  an 
exclusive  right  to  woman  though  he  may  of  his  own  free  will  lend 
her  to  other  men.  p.  74.  A  woman  may  be  Piraungaru  to  a 
number  of  men,  and  as  a  general  rule  men  and  women  who  are 
Piraungaru  to  one  another  are  to  be  found  living  grouped  to- 
gether, p.  (>2,.  The  number  of  a  man's  Piraungaru  depend 
entirely  upon  his  power  and  popularity;  if  he  be  ilrku,  influential, 
he  will  have  a  considerable  number,  if  he  be  insignificant  or  un- 
popular, then  he  will  meet  with  scanty  treatment,  p.  63.     Among 


The  Form  and  Duration  of  Marriage    149 

Urabunna  a  group  of  men  belonging  to  one  moiety  of  tribe  re- 
garded as  Nupas  or  possible  husbands  of  a  group  of  women 
belonging  to  other  moiety.  One  or  more  women  are  specially 
allotted  to  one  particular  man,  each  standing  in  relationship  of 
Nupa  to  the  other,  but  no  man  having  exclusive  right  to  any  one 
woman,  only  a  preferential  right.  A  group  of  men  stand  in  re- 
lationship of  Piraungaru  to  a  group  of  women  selected  from 
amongst  those  to  whom  they  are  Nupa.  p.  64. 

If  a  woman  runs  away  from  her  husband  and  he  is  unable  to 
recover  her,  he  and  his  friends  make  a  drawing  on  the  ground  of 
a  woman,  place  a  piece  of  bark  very  near  it  to  represent  the  spirit 
part,  and  then  all  the  men  stick  into  it  miniature  spears.  Exhorta- 
tions are  chanted  to  the  charm  to  go  out  and  enter  her  body  and 
dry  up  all  her  fat.  Sooner  or  later  her  fat  dries  up,  she  dies,  and 
her  spirit  appears  in  the  sky  in  the  form  of  a  shooting  star,    pp* 

549-550- 

Point  Barrow  Eskimo  : 

Most  men  have  one  wife,  though  a  few  of  the  wealthy  men  have 
two  each.  No  case  of  more  than  two  wives,  p.  411,  In  one  case 
the  younger  wife  was  disobedient  to  older  wife,  to  whom  husband 
was  much  attached.  "  Give  me  a  drink  of  water,"  said  the  older 
woman.  "  No,"  said  the  younger,  "  Go,"  said  the  older,  and  she 
went.  p.  412. 

Marriage  easily  dissolved  on  account  of  incompatibility  of 
temper  or  even  on  account  of  temporary  disagreements.  One  or 
two  cases  where  wives  left  husbands  on  account  of  ill-treatment. 
In  one  case  each  of  the  couple  married  again,  though  the  husband 
for  a  long  time  tried  his  best  to  get  his  wife  to  come  back  to  him. 
pp.  411-412.  In  one  case  a  wife  after  receiving  a  beating 
ran  away  and  married  another  man  ;  but  her  first  husband  fol- 
lowed her  in  a  day  or  two  and  either  by  violence  or  persuasion 
made  her  come  back  with  him.  p.  412.  In  several  cases  men 
discarded  wives  who  were  unsatisfactory  or  made  themselves  dis- 
agreeable. One  woman  had  a  querulous  temper  another  was  a 
great  talker,  p.  412. 
Behring  Strait  Eskimo  : 

Men  able  to  provide  frequently  take  two  or  more  wives.  First 
wife  regarded  as  head  of  family,  and  has  charge  of  the  food. 

A  man  may  discard  a  wife  who  is  a  scold  or  unfaithful  to 


150  The  Family 

him  or  who  is  niggardly  with  food,  keeping  best  for  herself.     A 
woman  may  leave  a  man  who  fails  to  provide  necessary  subsist- 
ence, p.  292. 
Central  Eskimo  • 

Monogamy  everywhere  more  frequent  than  polygyny,  only  a 
very  few  men  having  two  or  more  wives.  Among  the  Netchil- 
lirmiut  polyandry  stated  to  occur,  p.  579. 

Slightest  pretext  sufficient  for  a  separation,  p.  579. 

WVANDOTS 

First  wife  remains  head  of  household,  p.  63. 
Melanesians  : 

Polygyny  the  rule,  although  a  considerable  number  of  wives  is 
found  only  with  elder  and  richer  men.  Florida  Isl.  :  One  wife 
commonly,  husband  saying  that  he  can  neither  marry  nor  afford 
(wives  here  are  too  costly)  more  than  one.  The  seven  wives  of 
a  certain  chief  were  thought  a  great  many.  Visale  :  The  chief 
had  60  (here  brides  cost  little).  Saa  :  Ordinary  men  have  2, 
great  men  8  or  10.  Banks'  Isls.  :  A  well-to-do  man  has  ordi- 
narily 2  and  many  have  3.  Lepers*  Isl.:  Men  generally  have 
2  wives.  A  man  who  has  a  young  wife  takes  an  elder  woman,  a 
widow,  for  a  second,  to  look  after  the  first.  Some  men  have  3 
or  4,  a  great  man  lately  had  50.  p.  245.  Banks'  Isls.  :  Cases 
known  where  two  widowers  live  with  one  widow.  Cases  occur 
where  a  man  connives  at  wife's  connection  with  another  man, 
but  the  thing  is  thought  discreditable,  pp.  245-246. 

Divorce  easy  and  common.  Effected  at  will  of  either  party, 
although  easier  for  a  man  than  a  woman.  A  man  does  not  wish 
to  lose  bride-price,  and  he  will  try  many  times  to  get  back  a  run- 
away wife  before  giving  her  up.  If  separation  is  amicable  the 
woman's  father  will  return  the  bride-price,  having  in  view  another 
son-in-law.  After  some  time  in  wedlock,  a  woman  has  worked 
out  the  bride-price,  and  a  pig  or  two  on  one  side  or  the  other 
settles  all  claims,  p.  244. 
Ewe-Speaking  Peoples  : 

Unusual,  except  among  chief s,  for  a  man  to  have  more  than  4 
or  5  wives.  Excessive  polygyny  only  in  Dahomi,  where  a  man's 
rank  and  position  are  estimated  by  the  number  of  his  wives. 
In  royal   palaces   of   Dahomi  were  immured   more   than   5000 


The  Form  and  Duration  of  Marriage    151 

royal  wives,  pp.  203,  204,  205.  Head-wife  (first  wife)  super- 
vises informal  arrangements  of  whole  household.  Second  wife 
acts  as  her  assistant,  p.  204.  Concubines  usually  slave-girls 
owned  by  wives  and  loaned  by  them  to  husbands,   p.  205. 

A  wife  can,  with  husband's  consent,  leave  him  at  any  time  by 
refunding  head-money  and  the  amount  of  all  expenditures 
he  has  ever  incurred  on  her  behalf.  If  she  has  been  grossly 
neglected  or  ill-treated  by  him  she  can,  on  proving  her  case 
before  the  headmen,  leave  him  without  payment,   p.  206. 

In  separation,  children  accompany  mother,  who  reimburses 
father  for  their  maintenance,  p.  206. 

Tshi-Speaking  Peoples  : 

A  wife  almost  invariably  gives  her  slave-girl  to  her  husband  as 
a  concubine.  With  king's  permission,  his  sisters  may  marry  any 
man  who  is  pre-eminently  handsome,  no  matter  how  low  his  posi- 
tion; but  such  a  husband  is  required  to  commit  suicide  when  his 
wife  dies  or  upon  the  death  of  an  only  male  child.  The  women 
of  royal  blood  may  also,  with  permission,  intrigue  with  any  fine 
and  handsome  man.  p.  287. 

Separations  occur  frequently.  If  a  husband  grossly  maltreats 
a  wife,  or  neglects  her  for  a  considerable  time  for  a  rival,  she 
may  leave  him  without  restitution  of  head-money.  If  she  wishes  to 
leave  him  without  due  cause  she  must  receive  his  permission  and 
return  head-money  and  all  expenses,  p.  284. 

Yoruba-Speaking  Peoples  : 

Daughters  of  kings  or  chiefs  live  with  or  marry  whom  they 
please  and  change  their  partners  as  often  as  they  please.  First 
or  head-wife  styled  "  mistress  of  the  house  "  and  charged  with 
preservation  of  order  among  the  women.  Junior  wives  styled 
"  trade-wives"  or  "wives  of  commerce,"  probably  because  they 
sell  in  the  markets,  pp.  182-183. 

Thompson  River  Indians  : 

Polygyny  flourished,  very  many  men  having  from  2  to  4  wives, 
sometimes  all  sisters,  and  not  a  few  having  as  many  as  7  or  8,  yet 
there  were  a  large  number  of  men  who  had  only  one  wife.     For 
a  man  to  have  several  wives  was  indicative  of  wealth,  p.  326. 
Kabyles  : 

Right  of  separation  belongs  to  husband  only,   iii.,  397.     Ait 


152  The  Family 

Mahmoud,  village  of  Bou  Hinnoun.  If  a  woman  is  repudiated 
or  widowed,  everything  given  her  by  her  husband  or  father  remains 
the  property  of  husband  or  his  heirs,  with  the  exception  of  what  has 
been  loaned  her  by  her  father  before  witnesses  or  given  one  or 
two  days  after  she  has  come  into  her  husband's  house,  iii.,  434. 
Ait  Douala.  If  a  woman  leave  her  husband  for  another  man,  her 
parents  must  make  her  return  to  her  husband  or  restore  thd- 
mamth  to  him,  lazzouzen  Bouadda.  Parents  pay  150  douros  to 
the  deserted  husband,  if  their  fortune  permits,  otherwise  kharouba 
pays,  iii.,  89-90.  Cheurfa,  etc.  If  husband  and  wife  disagree 
and  husband  is  in  the  right,  he  may  repudiate  wife,  but  he  will 
receive  only  that  which  he  gave  for  her,  30  reals.  If  wife  does 
not  wish  to  remain  with  husband,  and  if  she  is  young,  she  will 
wait  until  she  becomes  of  age.  When  wife  becomes  of  age,  hus- 
band will  send  to  her  parents  to  ask  her  to  return.  If  three 
messages  of  this  kind  are  in  vain,  he  may  act  towards  her  as  he 
thinks  best.  He  may  repudiate  her  or  leave  her  thavidouk't  until 
his  death.  If  a  man  who  has  repudiated  his  wife  three  times 
with  the  formula  "  Thou  art  repudiated,"  takes  her  back  with  a 
marabout  as  witness,  he  is  fined  5  reals.  If  without  the  marabout, 
he  is  fined  50  reals,  iii.,  328.  If  a  wife  seek  refuge  from  husband 
in  house  of  a  man  who  is  not  her  relative  and  who  does  not  eject 
her  at  once,  the  man  is  fined  10  reals,  iii.,  365-366.  Ait  Ameur, 
etc.  If  a  man  marry  a  woman  of  this  tribe  and  subsequently  re- 
move to  Tunis,  after  three  years'  absence  the  woman  may  remarry 
and  the  man  receives  only  the  value  of  the  thdmamth.  If  a  man 
repudiates  his  wife  and  dies  before  she  remarries,  his  heirs  are 
entitled  only  to  the  value  of  the  thdma?nth.  iii.,  395.  Among 
other  tribes  a  wait  of  4  years  required  but  relatives  of  husband 
may  prolong  this  period  among  some  tribes  to  7  years,  among 
others  to  10,  by  providing  for  wife,  ii.,  146-147.  louadhien  (con- 
federation of  Ait  Sedka).  He  who  marries  a  woman  whom  he 
cannot  legally  marry  (a  married  woman  who  has  left  but  who  has 
not  been  repudiated  by  her  husband  and  so  cannot  remarry)  fined 
100  reals,  iii.,  341.  Wife  of  an  absent  man  may  not  remarry  for 
6  years.  If  her  first  husband  then  return,  the  value  of  the 
thdmamth  paid  by  him  must  be  returned  to  him.  iii.,  342. 

Ait    Ousammer.     When  a  husband    separates  from    wife,    in 
case  there  is  a  nursing  child  and  husband  refuse  to  leave  it  with 


The  Form  and  Duration  of  Marriage    153 

mother,  he  is  fined  2  reals.  Wife  likewise  fined  2  reals  if  she  re- 
fuse to  keep  the  child.  So  are  relatives  of  wife  if  they  refuse  to 
receive  it.  iii.,  384.  Ait  Kani.  If  a  divorced  woman  has  a  child 
at  the  breast  her  husband  pays  her  2  reals  per  month,  iii.,  p.  422. 
Seubka.     Husband  pays  her  10  reals  per  annum  for  4  years,   iii., 

439- 

Ancient  Arabs  : 

But  if  ye  wish  to  exchange  one  wife  for  another,  and  have 
given  one  of  them  a  talent,  then  take  not  from  it  anything.  iv.> 
24.  It  is  no  crime  in  you  if  ye  divorce  your  women  ere  ye  have 
yet  touched  them,  or  settled  for  them  a  settlement.  But  provide 
maintenance  for  them  ;  the  wealthy  according  to  his  power,  and 
the  straitened  in  circumstances  according  to  his  power,  must 
provide,  in  reason  ; — a  duty  this  upon  the  kind.  And  if  ye  di- 
vorce them  before  ye  have  touched  them,  but  have  already 
settled  for  them  a  settlement  ;  the  half  of  what  ye  have  settled, 
unless  they  remit  it,  or  he  in  whose  hand  is  the  marriage  tie  re- 
mits it  ;  and  that  ye  should  remit  is  nearer  to  piety,  and  forget 
not  liberality  between  you.  Verily,  God  on  what  ye  do  doth 
look,  ii.,  236-237.  O  thou  prophet  !  when  ye  divorce  women,  then 
divorce  them  at  their  term,  and  calculate  the  term  and  fear  God 
your  Lord.  Do  not  drive  them  out  of  their  houses  unless  they 
have  committed  manifest  adultery.  These  are  God's  bounds, 
and  whoso  transgresses  God's  bounds  has  wronged  himself.  Thou 
knowest  not  whether  haply  God  may  cause  something  fresh  to 
happen  after  that.  And  when  they  have  reached  their  appointed 
time,  then  retain  them  with  kindness,  or  separate  from  them  with 
kindness  ;  and  bring  as  witnesses  men  of  equity  from  among 
you  ;  and  give  upright  testimony  to  God.  .  .  .  Let  them  dwell 
where  ye  dwell,  according  to  your  means,  and  do  not  harm  them, 
to  reduce  them  to  straits  ;  and  if  they  be  heavy  with  child,  then 
pay  for  them  until  they  lay  down  their  burdens  ;  and  if  they 
suckle  (the  child)  for  you,  then  give  them  their  hire,  and  consult 
among  yourselves  in  reason  ;  but  if  ye  be  in  difficulties,  and 
another  shall  suckle  the  child  for  him,  let  him  who  has  plenty 
expend  of  his  plenty  ;  \xw.,  passim.  Divorced  women  must  wait 
for  themselves  three  courses  ;  and  it  is  not  lawful  to  them  that 
they  hide  what  God  has  created  in  their  wombs,  if  they  believe 
in  God  and  the  last  day.     Their  husbands  will  do  better  to  take 


154  The  Family 

them  back  in  that  (case)  if  they  wish  for  reconciliation  ;  for,  the 
same  is  due  to  them  as  from  them.  .  .  .  Divorce  (may  happen) 
twice  ;  then  keep  them  in  reason,  or  let  them  go  with  kindness. 
It  is  not  lawful  for  you  to  take  from  them  anything  of  what  you 
have  given  them,  unless  both  fear  that  they  cannot  keep  within 
God's  bounds.  So  if  ye  fear  that  ye  cannot  keep  within  God's 
bounds  there  is  no  crime  in  you  both  about  what  she  ransoms 
herself  with.  These  are  God's  bounds,  do  not  transgress  them  ; 
and  whoso  transgresses  God's  bounds,  they  it  is  who  are  unjust. 
But  if  he  divorce  her  (a  third  time)  she  shall  not  be  lawful  to  him 
after  that,  until  she  marry  another  husband  ;  but,  if  he  divorce 
her  too,  it  is  no  crime  in  them  both  to  come  together  again,  if 
they  think  that  they  can  keep  within  God's  bounds.  .  .  .  When 
ye  divorce  women,  and  they  have  reached  their  prescribed  term, 
do  not  prevent  them  from  marrying  their  (fresh)  husbands,  when 
they  have  agreed  with  each  other  reasonably.  That  is  what  he 
is  admonished  with  who  amongst  you  believes  in  God  and  in  the 
last  day.  That  is  more  pure  for  you  and  cleaner,  ii.,  227-232. 
Also  Ixvi.,  footnote  i.;  Iviii.,  1-4. 

And  if  ye  fear  a  breach  between  the  two,  then  send  a  judge 
from  his  people  and  a  judge  from  her  people.  If  they  wish  for 
reconciliation,  God  will  arrange  between  them,  iv.,  38-39. 

Ancient  Hebrews  : 

And  Lamech  (the  6th  generation  from  Adam)  took  unto  him- 
self 2  wives.  Gen.  iv.,  19,  Gideon  had  threescore  and  ten  sons 
of  his  body  begotten  :  for  he  had  many  wives.  He  had  also  one 
concubine.  Judges  viii.,  30,  31.  Elkanah  had  two  wives,  i  Sam. 
i.,2  .  David  took  two  wives,  Abigail  and  Ahinoam.  Saul  had  given 
Michal,  his  daughter  and  David's  first  wife,  to  Phalti.  i  Sam.  xxv. 
42-44.  Subsequently  David  took  four  wives.  2  Sam.  iii.,  3-5.  And 
still  later  more  concubines  and  wives.  2  Sam.  v.,  13.  Solomon 
had  700  wives,  princesses,  and  300  concubines,  i  Kings  xi.,  3. 
And  Sarah  said  unto  Abraham,  Behold  now  the  Lord  hath  re- 
strained me  from  bearing  :  I  pray  thee,  go  in  unto  my  maid  ;  it 
may  be  that  I  may  obtain  children  by  her.  And  Sarah  gave  Hagar 
her  maid  the  Egyptian,  to  her  husband  Abraham  to  be  his  wife. 
When  Hagar  had  conceived,  Sarah  was  despised  by  her,  and 
Sarah  upbraided  Abraham.  But  Abraham  said.  Behold  thy  maid 
is  in  thy  hand;  do  to  her  as  it  pleaseth  thee.   Gen.  xvi.,  2-6.    At  the 


The  Form  and  Duration  of  Marriage     155 

request  of  Sarah,  Abraham  sent  away  Hagar  and  her  son.  lb. 
xxi.,  9-14.  Abraham's  brother,  Nahor,  had  a  concubine,  Beumah. 
lb.  xxii.,  24.  Abraham  had  concubines.  lb.  xxv.,  6.  And  if  a 
man  sell  his  daughter  to  be  a  maidservant,  she  shall  not  go  out  as 
the  menservants  do,  /.  ^.,  be  free  in  the  seventh  year.  If  she 
please  not  her  master,  who  hath  betrothed  her  to  himself,  then 
shall  he  let  her  be  redeemed  ;  to  sell  her  unto  a  strange  nation 
he  shall  have  no  power,  seeing  he  hath  dealt  deceitfully  with  her. 
And  if  he  have  betrothed  her  unto  his  son,  he  shall  deal  with  her 
after  the  manner  of  daughters.  If  he  take  him  another  wife;  her 
food,  her  raiment,  and  her  duty  of  marriage,  shall  he  not  diminish. 
And  if  he  do  not  these  three  unto  her,  then  shall  she  go  out  free 
without  money.  Ex.  xxi.,  7-1 1. 

When  a  man  hath  taken  a  wife,  .  .  .  and  it  come  to  pass  that 
she  find  no  favor  in  his  eyes,  because  he  hath  found  some  un- 
cleanness  in  her  :  then  let  him  write  her  a  divorcement  and  give 
it  in  her  hand  and  send  her  out  of  his  house.  And  .  .  .  she 
may  go  and  be  another  man's  wife.  And  if  the  latter  husband 
hate  her,  and  write  her  a  bill  of  divorcement,  and  give  it  in  her 
hand,  and  send  her  out  of  his  house  ;  or  if  the  latter  husband 
die,  which  took  her  to  be  his  wife  ;  her  former  husband,  which 
sent  her  away,  may  not  take  her  again  to  be  his  wife,  after  that 
she  is  defiled  ;  for  that  is  abomination  before  the  Lord.  Deut. 
xxiv.,  1-4.  Many  sons  of  the  priests  as  well  as  others,  had  taken 
strange  wives,  "  and  they  gave  their  hands  that  they  would  put 
away  their  wives."  It  was  also  proposed  to  put  away  the  children 
born  of  them.  Ezra  x.  For  the  Lord  saith  that  he  hateth  putting 
away.  Mai.  ii.,  16. 

Babylonians  : 

If  a  man  take  a  wife  and  that  wife  give  a  maidservant  to  her  hus- 
band and  she  bear  children  ;  if  that  man  set  his  face  to  take  a 
concubine,  they  shall  not  countenance  him.  He  may  not  take  a 
concubine.  §  144.  If  the  maidservant  bear  children  and  after- 
ward would  take  rank  with  her  mistress  because  she  has  borne 
children,  her  mistress  may  not  sell  her  for  money,  but  she  may 
reduce  her  to  bondage  and  count  her  among  the  maidservants 
§  146.  If  she  have  not  borne  children,  her  mistress  may  sell  her 
for  money.  §  147.  If  a  man's  wife  do  not  present  him  with  child- 
ren and  he  set  his  face  to  take  a    concubine,  he  may  bring  a 


156  The  Family 

concubine  into  his  house.  She  shall  not  rank  with  his  wife. 
§  145.  If  a  man  take  a  wife  and  she  become  afflicted  with  dis- 
ease, and  if  he  set  his  face  to  take  another,  he  may.  His  wife, 
who  is  afflicted  with  disease,  he  shall  not  put  away.  She  shall 
remain  in  the  house  which  he  has  built  and  he  shall  maintain  her 
as  long  as  she  lives.  §  148. 

If  she  do  not  elect  to  remain,  he  shall  make  good  to  her  the 
dowry  which  she  brought  from  her  father's  house  and  she  may 
go.  §  149.  If  a  man  would  put  away  his  wife  who  has  not  borne 
him  children,  he  shall  give  her  money  to  the  amount  of  her  mar- 
riage settlement  and  he  shall  make  good  to  her  the  dowry  which 
she  brought  from  her  father's  house  and  then  he  may  put  her 
away.  §  138.  If  there  were  no  marriage  settlement,  he  shall  give 
to  her  one  mana  of  silver  for  a  divorce.  §  139.  If  a  freeman,  he 
shall  give  her  one-third  mana  of  silver.  §  140.  If  a  man  be  cap- 
tured and  there  be  maintenance  in  his  house  and  his  wife  go  out 
of  her  house,  she  shall  protect  her  body  and  she  shall  not  enter 
into  another  house.   §  133. 

Otherwise  they  shall  call  her  to  account  and  throw  her  into  the 
water.  §  133  A.  If  there  be  no  maintenance  in  the  house  and  she 
enter  into  another  she  has  no  blame.  §134.  If  she  bear  children; 
and  if  later  her  husband  return,  she  shall  return  to  him  and  the 
children  shall  go  to  their  father.  §  135.  If  a  man  desert  his  city 
and  flee  and  afterwards  his  wife  enter  into  another  house  ;  if  he 
return  and  would  take  his  wife,  she  shall  not  return  to  him 
because  he  hated  his  city  and  fled.  §  136.  If  the  wife  of  a  man 
who  is  living  in  his  house,  set  her  face  to  go  out  and  play  the  part 
of  a  fool,  neglect  her  house,  belittle  her  husband,  they  shall  call 
her  to  account ;  if  her  husband  say  "  I  have  put  her  away,"  he 
shall  let  her  go.  On  her  departure  nothing  shall  be  given  to  her 
for  her  divorce.  If  her  husband  say:  "  I  have  not  put  her  away," 
her  husband  may  take  another  woman.  The  first  woman  shall 
dwell  in  the  house  of  her  husband  as  a  maidservant.  §  141.  If 
a  woman  hate  her  husband,  and  say:  "  Thou  shalt  not  have  me," 
they  shall  inquire  into  her  antecedents  for  her  defects;  and  if  she 
have  been  a  careful  mistress  and  be  without  reproach  and  her 
husband  have  been  going  about  and  greatly  belittling  her,  that 
woman  has  no  blame.  She  shall  receive  her  dowry  and  shall  go  to 
her  father's  house.  §  142.     If  she  have  not  been  a  careful  mistress, 


The  Form  and  Duration  of  Marriage    157 

have  gadded  about,  have  neglected  her  house,  and  have  belit 
tied  her  husband,  they  shall  throw  her  into  the  water.  §  143.  If 
a  man  set  his  face  to  put  away  a  concubine  who  has  borne  him 
children  or  a  wife  who  has  presented  him  with  children,  he  shall 
return  to  that  woman  her  dowry  and  shall  give  to  her  the  income 
of  field,  garden,  and  goods  and  she  shall  bring  up  her  children; 
from  the  time  that  her  children  are  grown  up,  from  whatever  is 
given  to  her  children  they  shall  give  to  her  a  portion  correspond- 
ing to  that  of  a  son  and  the  man  of  her  choice  may  marry  her. 
§  137.  If  a  man  be  in  debt  and  he  sell  his  maidservant  who  has 
borne  him  children,  the  owner  of  the  maidservant  (/,  e.,  the  man 
in  debt)  shall  repay  the  money  which  the  merchant  paid  (him), 
and  he  shall  ransom  his  maidservant,  §  119. 

Ancient  Hindus  : 

If  twice-born  men  wed  women  of  their  own  and  of  other  lower 
castes,  the  seniority,  honour,  and  habitation  of  such  wives  must  be 
settled  in  the  order  of  the  castes.  The  wife  of  equal  caste  alone 
shall  personally  attend  her  husband  and  assist  him  in  his  daily 
sacred  rites,  ix.,  85-87. 

If  the  husband  went  abroad  for  some  sacred  duty,  the  wife 
must  wait  for  him  8  years;  if  he  went  to  acquire  learning  or 
fame  6  years,  if  for  pleasure,  3  years.  She  who  shows  disrespect 
to  a  husband  who  is  addicted  to  some  evil  passion,  is  a  drunkard, 
or  deceased,  shall  be  deserted  for  three  months  and  deprived  of 
her  ornaments  and  furniture.  If  she  show  aversion  toward  a 
mad  or  outcast  husband,  a  eunuch,  one  destitute  of  manly 
strength,  or  one  afflicted  with  such  diseases  as  punish  crimes,  she 
shall  neither  be  cast  off  nor  be  deprived  of  her  property.  .  .  . 
For  one  year  let  a  husband  bear  with  a  wife  who  hates  him;  then 
let  him  deprive  her  of  her  property  and  cease  to  cohabit  with 
her.  She  who  drinks  spirituous  liquor,  is  of  bad  conduct,  rebel- 
lious, diseased,  mischievous,  or  wasteful,  may  at  any  time  be 
superseded  by  another  wife,  A  barren  wife  may  be  superseded 
in  the  eighth  year;  she  whose  children  all  die,  in  the  tenth;  she 
who  bears  only  daughters,  in  the  eleventh;  but  she  who  is  quarrel- 
some, without  delay.  But  a  sick  wife  who  is  kind  to  her  husband 
and  virtuous  in  her  conduct  may  be  superseded  only  with  her 
own  consent  and  must  never  be  disgraced,  A  wife,  who  being 
superseded,  in  anger  departs  from  her  husband's  house,  must 


15S  The  Family 

either  be  instantly  confined  or  cast  off  in  the  presence  of  the 
family,  ix.,  76-84. 

At  the  feast  of  the  manes  only  remnants  shall  be  the  share  of 
those  who  unjustly  forsook  noble  wives,  iii.,  245.  A  woman  must 
not  seek  to  separate  herself  from  her  father,  husband,  or  sons,  by 
leaving  them,  she  would  make  both  her  own  and  her  husband's 
family  contemptible,   v.,  149. 

Neither  by  sale  nor  repudiation  is  a  wife  released  from  her  hus- 
band,/.  e.,  if  sold  or  repudiated  she  may  never  become  the  legiti- 
mate wife  of  another,   ix.,  46  and  footnote. 
Ancient  Chinese  : 

The  Son  of  Heaven  has  his  queen,  his  helpmates,  his  women 
of  family,  his  ladies  of  honour.  These  constituted  his  wife  and 
concubines,  xxvii.,  109.  A  niece  and  younger  sister  accompanied 
the  bride  to  the  harem,  xxvii.,  loo-ioi.  Until  a  concubine  had 
completed  her  fiftieth  year  it  was  the  rule  that  she  should  be 
with  her  husband  once  in  five  days.  Even  a  favourite  concubine 
was  required  in  dress  and  diet  to  come  after  her  superior.  If  the 
wife  were  not  with  the  husband,  a  concubine  waiting  on  him 
would  not  venture  to  remain  the  whole  night,  xxvii.,  471.  Even 
after  the  wife  of  a  ruler  was  dead,  the  concubine  wore  mourn- 
ing for  her  relatives.  If  one  of  them  took  her  place  and 
acted  as  mistress  of  the  establishment  she  did  not  wear  mourning 
for  the  relatives,  xxvii.,  138-139. 

The  concubine  followed  the  wife  out  of  the  harem  if  the  latter 
came  to  be  divorced,  xxviii,,  44.  When  a  feudal  lord  sent  his 
wife  away,  she  proceeded  on  her  journey  to  her  own  state,  and 
was  received  there  with  the  observances  due  to  a  lord's  wife.  .  . 
Her  attendants  set  forth  the  various  articles  sent  with  her  at  her 
marriage,  and  those  on  the  other  side  received  them,  xxviii., 
170-171. 
Ancient  Romans  : 

The  same  woman  cannot  at  the  same  time  have  two  husbands, 
nor  can  the  same  man  have  two  wives.  J.  i.,  §  6t,.     Marriage   is 
the  union  o^  a  man  and  a  woman  entraining  the  obligation  to  live 
in  inseparable  communion.   J.  i.,  §  3. 
French  : 

147.  No  one  can  contract  a  second  marriage  before  the  disso- 
lution of  the  first. 


The  Form  and  Duration  of  Marriage     159 

231,  232.  A  husband  and  wife  may  reciprocally  sue  for  a 
divorce  on  account  of  violence,  cruelty,  or  gross  insults,  on  the 
part  of  the  one  against  the  other,  or  in  case  of  a  sentence  impos- 
ing degrading  corporal  punishment.  296.  A  divorced  wife  shall 
not  be  able  to  remarry  before  ten  months  after  the  divorce  has 
become  final.  297  (x).  In  case  of  divorce  by  mutual  consent 
neither  husband  nor  wife  shall  be  able  to  remarry  until  3  years 
after  such  divorce  has  been  decreed.  298.  In  case  of  a  divorce 
granted  by  the  court  on  account  of  adultery,  the  guilty  party 
shall  never  be  able  to  marry  his  or  her  accomplice.  301,  If 
husband  and  wife  have  not  stipulated  any  advantage  in  favour  of 
each  other,  or  if  those  stipulated  do  not  appear  to  be  sufficient  to 
secure  the  maintenance  of  the  husband  or  wife  who  has  obtained 
the  divorce,  the  Tribunal  may  grant  alimony  to  such  husband 
or  wife,  which  shall  not  exceed  one-third  of  the  income  of  the 
other.  Such  alimony  can  be  stopped  in  case  it  should  cease  to  be 
necessary. 

267.  The  provisional  custody  of  the  children  shall  belong  to 
the  husband,  whether  plaintiff  or  defendant  in  a  divorce  suit, 
unless  the  Tribunal  makes  a  different  order  at  the  request  either 
of  the  mother  or  of  the  family  or  of  the  Public  Prosecutor,  for 
the  greater  advantage  of  the  children.  302.  The  children  shall 
be  confided  to  the  husband  or  wife  who  has  obtained  the  divorce, 
unless  the  Tribunal,  at  the  request  of  the  family  or  of  the  Public 
Prosecutor,  should  order,  for  the  greater  advantage  of  the  child- 
ren, that  all  or  some  of  them  should  be  placed  under  the  care 
of  the  other  or  of  a  third  party.  303.  Indivorce  whoever  may  be 
the  person  to  whom  the  children  shall  be  confided,  the  father  and 
mother  shall  respectively  retain  the  right  to  watch  over  their 
maintenance  and  education,  and  they  shall  be  bound  to  contribute 
thereto  in  proportion  to  their  means.  304.  Divorce  shall  not 
deprive  offspring  of  any  of  the  advantages  which  were  secured 
to  them  by  law  or  by  the  matrimonial  agreements  of  their  father 
and  mother.  305  (y).  In  case  of  divorce  by  mutual  consent,  the 
ownership  of  one-half  of  the  property  of  the  husband  and  wife 
shall  belong  by  right,  from  the  day  of  their  first  declaration,  to 
the  children  born  of  the  marriage;  the  father  and  mother  shall, 
nevertheless,  retain  the  enjoyment  of  this  half  until  their  children 
become  of  age,   on  condition  of  providing   for  their   support, 


i6o  The  Family 

maintenance,  and  education,  in  accordance  with  their  fortune 

and  standing. 

People  of  the  United  States  : 

Polygamy  (legal)  is  an  indictable  offence.  §  21. 

Adultery,  cruelty,  and  desertion  are  the  three  general  causes  of 
divorce.  §  220  b.  There  is  both  judicial  separation  {a  mensa  et 
thoro)  and  absolute  divorce  (a  vinculo).  Divorce  nisi  is  the  sus- 
pension of  the  decree  of  absolute  divorce  for  a  certain  period. 
Suit  for  restitution  of  conjugal  rights  has  never  had  a  foothold. 
§  220  a.  Transfers  of  property  actually  executed  prior  to  divorce 
remain  unaffected  ;  but  rights  dependent  on  marriage,  courtesy, 
dower,  rights  of  administration,  etc.,  are  annihilated  by  the  de- 
cree. §221.  These  rights  are  unaffected  by  divorce  a  w^«id;  <?////<?/-(? 
and  nisi,  but  in  such  cases  the  wife's  property  will  be  protected  by 
the  court.  §  222. 

The  child's  custody  may  be  given  by  the  divorce  court  to  either 
parent  or  to  a  third  person.  §  249.  Bastards  maybe  legitimated 
by  subsequent  marriage  or  in  some  States  by  a  public  act  of  pa- 
ternal recognition  or  adoption  aside  from  marriage.  §  277.  In 
some  States  the  father  of  a  bastard  may  at  the  instance  of  the 
mother  be  coerced  by  arrest  and  imprisonment  into  furnishing 
maintenance  for  the  child.  §  279.  The  tendency  is  to  regard 
wills  in  favour  of  bastards  with  the  same,  or  nearly  the  same,  con- 
sideration as  all  others.  §  281.  In  general,  a  bastard  can  not 
inherit  from  the  putative  father.   §  277,  N.  3. 


LECTURE   VIII 


SEXUAL   CHOICE 


w 


HETHER  or  not  sexual  choice  has  been  as  im-  importance  of 

S6XU3I  choice 

portant  a  factor  in  evolution  as  has  sometimes 


been  claimed/  its  importance  as  a  social  factor  is 
great — greater,  probably,  than  we  as  yet  surmise ;  for 
from  this  point  of  view  the  subject  has  never  been 
adequately  examined.  At  present  we  shall  merely 
review  some  of  the  data  useful  in  such  a  study. 

Amonof  mankind,  as  amono-  the  lower  animals,  inci-  significance  of 

(■  1    .  ,        .       ,.  ,  -    courtship 

dents  of  courtship  commonly  mdicate  the  nature  of 
the  traits  which  are  prized  in  mating.  The  accepted 
suitor  is  frequently  he  who  excels  in  purposive  tests 
of  strength,  speed,  cunning,  etc.,  or  he  whose  presents 
are  the  richest  or  whose  display  of  wealth  or  social 
distinction  is  the  most  alluring.      Betrothal  and  mar-  ofbetrothai 

•     1  !_  •       M        1  ^'  C  and  marriaere 

riage  ceremonial  may  be  similarly  suggestive  of  pre-  ceremonial 
ferred  conjugal  characteristics.      In    this    connection  of  the  bride-price 
regulations  of  the  bride-price  based  on  the  rank  of  the  ""rcumstanc^es 
groom's  father,  on  the  bride's  previous  condition  of 
maidenhood,  widowhood,  etc.,  on  her  personal  traits, 
appearance,  strength,  etc.,  are  significant.     Widows, 
for  example,  in  view  of  their  acquired  skill  in  domestic 
work,  sometimes  bring  a  higher  price  than  virgins. 
Virgins,  on  the  other  hand,  may,  where  chastity  has 

'  For  Darwin's  theory  of  sexual  selection  and  criticisms  of  it  see  Note  B. 

161 


1 62  The  Family 

a  distinctly  marketable  value/  sell  for  more  than 
widows.' 
Enduring  nature  of  We  shouM  Hotc  that  the  strugglc  that  goes  on 
Iliectio'n°^^""*  between  members  of  the  same  sex  for  desirable  mates 
is  not  limited  to  the  first  period  of  courtship.  It  con- 
tinues throughout  the  mating  period  of  life,  although 
it  is  to  a  considerable  extent  conditioned  by  social 
usage  in  regard  to  the  form  and  duration  of  sexual 
intercourse'^  as  well  as  by  a  number  of  other  restric- 
tions upon  sexual  choice  which  we  shall  soon  con- 
sider. A  man  may  have  to  fight  to  keep  as  well  as  to 
get  his  wife.  She  may  be  captured  or  through  magic 
charmed  away  from  him  or  she  may  voluntarily  leave 
him  for  another.  A  wife  may  on  her  side  have  to  con- 
tend with  other  women  both  in  and  out  of  wedlock 
for  her  husband's  favour.  He  may  cast  her  off  or 
merely  neglect  her. 

Among  human  beings  the  play  of  sexual  choice  *  is 

'  See  p.  194. 

'  Note  that  the  struggle  of  sexual  selection  may  be,  so  to  speak,  unconscious 
and  impersonal,  as  well  as  conscious  and  personal.  The  rivals  may  never 
meet  or  know  of  one  another.  The  greater  part  of  romantic  literature  ex- 
presses some  form  or  other  of  this  struggle.  There  is  a  special  opportunity  here 
for  an  analysis  of  some  of  the  great  novels,  Anna  Karenina,  War  and  Peace, 
Tdss  0/  the  (f  Urbervilles,  Tom  yones.  The  Ordeal  of  Richard  Fever  el,  Henry 
Esmond,  Madame  Bovary,  etc. 

*This  subject  we  have  already  considered  in  the  two  preceding  lectures.  Let 
us  note,  in  addition,  that  both  under  polygyny  and  polyandry  there  are  usually 
rules  in  regard  to  the  proportioning  of  conjugal  intercourse  between  the  wives 
or  the  husbands,  as  the  case  may  be.  Even  under  monogamy  the  amount  of 
sexual  intercourse  may  be  customarily  stipulated.  It  is  unfortunate  that  there 
has  been  so  little  observation  of  jealousy,  particularly  of  female  jealousy,  on  the 
part  of  ethnographers.  What  observations  we  have  are  scattered  and  indirect — 
e.g.,  the  fact  of  infanticide  under  jealousy-arousing  circumstances.  See  p.  46. 
Here,  as  in  other  matters,  ethnography  would  profit  through  the  work  of 
women  students. 

*  The  student  should  not  be  bewildered  by  this  term  into  bondage  to  any 
free-will  obsession.  Sexual,  like  other  kinds  of  choice,  is  always  the  out- 
come of  given  causes.     The  restrictions  or  limitations  on  sexual  choice  which 


Sexual  Choice  163 

limited  at  all  times  by  a  great  number  of  impersonal  checks  upon  social 
social  or  quasi-social  checks.  Even  among  the  lower 
animals  sexual  choice  is  limited  to  choice  within  the 
same  variety  of  species  and  to  particular  groups 
within  the  species,  according  to  specific  distribution. 
It  is  unnecessary  to  do  more  than  refer  to  the  preju- 
dice that  obtains  in  all  communities  against  sexual 
intercourse  between  human  and  non-human  beings 
(one  form  of  so-called  sodomy)  as  a  proof  that  similar 
restrictions  likewise  exist  in  the  human  species. 
Although  there  are  probably  no  pure  races  in  exist- 
ence, nevertheless  abundant  evidence  of  aversion,  as 
well  as  of  indifference,  to  racial  intermixture  does 
exist.  Added  to  these  restrictions  upon  sexual  choice 
are  a  great  number  of  restrictions  based  (i)  upon 
ideas  of  consanguinity  and  affinity  ;  (2)  upon  locality ; 
(3)  upon  separation  of  the  sexes  ;  (4)  upon  economic, 
cultural,  and  political  differences ;  (5)  upon  parental 
ownership  ;  (6)  upon  group  or  class  control ;  and  (7) 
upon  the  age  of  the  bride  or  groom. 

(i)  There  is  probably  no  human  society  in  which  consanguinity 
sexual  choice  is  not  more  or  less  restricted  by  con- 
sanguineous relations.  Sometimes  these  restrictions 
are  endogamous,  requiring  marriage  within  the  kin, 
sometimes  they  areexogamous,  prohibitive  of  marriage 
within  the  kin.     As  we  shall  see  later,  the  notion  of  correspondence 

■J    •        1    •        .  ^•  rr  ^•  rr  •    •  between  consan- 

kmship  IS  very  different  among  different  communities,  guineous  marriage 

T«i  ,     •    ,  •  1,1,  •,        restrictions  and 

i  he  restrictions  correspond  to,  but  are  never  quite  kinship 
identical   with,  these  notions  of  kinship. 

There  is  almost  always,  for  example,  an  aversion  to 

we  are  to  consider  at  present  are  merely  of  a  more  general  character,  affecting 
every  member  of  a  particular  group  or  groups,  than  many  of  the  factors  that 
enter  into  the  choice  of  the  individual. 


164  The  Family 

marriage  in  the  ascending  or  descending  Hne,  and  yet 
in  the  matronymic  or  patronymic  group  father  or 
mother,  as  the  case  may  be,  may  not  be  reckoned  of 
the  same  kin  as  the  child.  Again,  in  the  endogamous 
group,  brother-sister  marriage  is,  as  a  rule,  not  cus- 
tomary. Endogamous  or  cxogamous  restrictions  up- 
on maternal  or  paternal  uncle-niece  or  aunt-nephew  or 
cousin-marriage  may  exist  irrespective  of  other  endo- 
coexistence of        gamous  or  cxogamous  rules.      Under  ethnic  organisa- 

endogamous  and  .  .  .  -  - 

cxogamous  rules  tion,  endogauious  and  exogamous  rules  commonly 
co-exist  in  the  same  group  or  federation  of  groups. 
Similar  although  less  formal  restrictions  exist  in  civil 
society.  Marriage,  as  we  have  seen,  may  be  forbidden 
both  within  an  inner  circle  and  without  an  outer  circle 
of  consanguinity.  The  clan,  or  phratry,  to  give  an- 
other widespread  example,  maybe  exogamous  and  the 
tribe  endogamous.^  C^^oss-cotisin  marriage,  or  mar- 
riage between  cousins  belonging  to  different  totem 
clans  or  phratries  may  be  required,  whereas  marriage 
between  cousins  belono-inor  to  the  same  totem  clans  or 

Relations  assimi-      phratries  mav  be    forbidden.      Adoption,     fosteraofe, 

lated  to  blood-  ^  -^  r  '  t>     » 

relations  milk-brotherhood,  sponsorship,  and  affinity  (connec- 

tion through  marriage)  are  frequently  assimilated  to 
blood-relationship  so  that  the  relations  to  which  they 
give  rise  are  prohibitive  marriage  relations.      Not  un- 

AffiBity  commonly  sons  and  brothers    inherit    the    wives    of 

their  deceased  relatives.  Where,  in  another  stage  ol 
conjugal  relationship,  widows  mherit  property  they 
may  be  married  by  the  relatives  of  their  deceased 
husband  to  keep  the  property  within  the  kinship  group. 
In  Thibetan  or  brother-polyandry  and  in  North- 
American  or  sister-polygyny,  sexual  choice  is,  of  course, 

'  See  pp.  169-70,  281  for  fuller  discussion  of  this  intricate  subject. 


Sexual  Choice  165 

partly  restricted  by  affinity.  Analogous  restrictions 
are  seen  in  the  levirate  ^  or  7iiyoga  '^  and  in  the  sub- 
stitution of  a  female  relative  for  a  barren  or  deceased 
wife.^ 

Consanouineous    restrictions   upon  marriage  com-  Analogous 

111"",  ,  restrictions  upon 

monly  hold  as  well  for  temporary  sexual  mtercourse.  temporary  sexuai 

E.i  .  ,   .     .    .      intercourse 

xceptions  sometimes  occur  on  the  occasion  of  initi- 
ation or  marriage  ceremonial.  This  whole  subject, 
however,  needs  fuller  investigation. 

Violation  of  consancruineous  marriap^e  restrictions  or  Punishment  for 

11  1  .  incest 

incest  is  almost  universally  severely  punished  by  the 
kinship  group.  The  punishments  are  exile,  destruc- 
tion of  personal  property,  death.  It  is  notable  that 
group  condemnation  of  incest  is  always  more  marked 
than  that  of  adultery.  Disease,  misfortunes  of  vari- 
ous kinds,  and  death  through  supernatural  agencies  are 
also  generally  believed  to  follow  from  incest. 

Frequently  endog^amous  rules  requirinp",  for  exam-  Endogamous rules 

.    ■*•       ^         ^  *^  _  ^        ■*■  '-^  _  and  economic 

pie,  cousin  or  uncle-niece  marriage  are  the  direct  motives 
outcome  of  economic  motives.  Property  is  thereby, 
as  in  the  case  of  marriage  by  relatives  of  widow-heir- 
esses, kept  in  the  kinship  group.  The  arrangement 
may  also  be  analogous  to  marriage  by  barter  where, 
for  example,  the  first  daughter  is  promised  before 
birth  to  a  younger  brother  or  to  the  son  of  a  brother 
or  sister.  Sometimes  persons  who  are  pledged  by 
birth  in  this  way  to  one  another  in  marriage  may  even 
free  themselves  from  the  obligation  by  pledging  their 
unborn  offspring  in  their  stead. 

(2)     Incommunitieswhere  social  relations  ingfeneral  Effect  of  disintegra- 

^     -^  *-*  tion  of  blood-ties 

tend  to  be  based  less  and  less  upon  common  blood,  mar-  upon  consanguine. 

f  1   1  II-        1    •         1  •  1'       •     •    1         °"^    marriage 

riage  restrictions  01  blood-kinship  begin  to  diminish,  restrictions 

•  See  p.  250.  *  Ibid.  *  See  p.  194. 


i66 


The  Family 


District   endogamy 
or  exogamy 


Serfdom    restric- 
tions 

Restrictions  result- 
ing from  general 
lack  of  mobility 


Sexual  segregation 


Differentiation  of 
occupations 


Inititiativein  court- 
ship taken  by  male 


Class  or  caste 
restrictions 


Rettrictiona  vary 
with  class 


In  the  passing  of  the  blood-tie  into  a  territorial  tie, 
for  example,  district  endogamy  or  exogamy,  may  be 
assimilated  to  kinship  endogamy  or  exogamy,  the 
inhabitants  of  the  same  locality  being  reputed  and 
actually  being  in  large  part  akin.  For  example,  mar- 
riage within  the  clan,  if  the  clan  is  scattered,  may  be  al- 
lowed where  marriage  within  the  tribe,  if  the  tribe  is  a 
local  unit,  is  forbidden.  District  endogamy  may  also 
combine  with  economic  class  endogamy  as  in  serfdom. 
Lack  of  freedom  in  general  to  move  from  one  place  to 
another — a  condition  which  to  a  greater  or  less  extent 
applies  to  the  members  of  all  communities — is,  of 
course,  a  check  upon  sexual  choice. 

(3)  The  segregation  or  separation  of  the  sexes, 
which  also  to  a  greater  or  less  extent  characterises  all 
communities,  is  an  analogous  check.  At  puberty  or,  in 
many  cases,  before  this  period,  boys  and  girls  are  com- 
monly separated.  They  not  infrequently  sleep  and  eat 
in  different  places.  Their  occupations  are  differen- 
tiated. As  we  have  already  noted,  both  before  and 
after  marriag^e  a  orreater  or  less  desree  of  avoidance 
of  one  sex  by  the  other  may  be  practised.  The  seclu- 
sion in  general  of  women  may  be  particularly  marked. 
Pertinent  in  this  connection  is  the  fact  that  the  cus- 
tom of  one  sex  almost  always  the  male,  taking  the 
initiative  in  courtship  is  also  a  check  on  sexual  choice. 

(4)  In  communities  where  economic,  cultural  (re- 
ligious and  intellectual  ),  and  political  classes  or  castes 
are  differentiated,  marriage  between  members  of  dif- 
ferent classes  or  castes  is,  as  a  rule,  forbidden  or  dis- 
couraged. Irrespective  of  classes  or  castes,  marriage 
between  two  given  families  or  within  sets  of  families 
may  be  customary.     Different  classes  in   the    same 


Sexual  Choice  167 

community  may  have  different  marriage  restrictions. 
Brother-sister  marriage  practised  exclusively  by  royal  Brother-sister  mar. 
or  noble  families  is  a  case  in  point.  Again,  the  priestly 
class  is  frequently  precluded  from  marriage,  less 
frequently  from  all  sexual  intercourse.  When  not  Priestiy marriage 
forbidden  to  marry,  priests  may  in  a  polygynous  com- 
munity be  limited  to  one  wife  or  their  choice  may  be 
limited  to  women  of  a  certain  kind,  e.g.,  to  virgins. 
Forms  of  political  or  military  celibacy  may  also  occur. 

(5)     An  important  restriction  upon  sexual  choice  parental 
we  have  already  referred  to  in  considering  the  sub-  °^°*"  '** 
jects  of  age  at  betrothal  and  marriage  and  of  wife 
purchase.     We  have  learned  that  parental  ownership 
precludes  to  a  great  extent  the  possibility  of  sexual 
choice  on  the  part  of  girls,  and  to  a  less  extent  on 
that  of  youths.     The  bride-price,  the  service  of  an  Motives  of 
^ble    son-    or    daughter-in-law,    affiliation    with     an  by  parentr"**^* 
influential   group,^   are   among   the   motives  of   the 
vicarious  sexual  choice  of  parents.     Where  marriage 
by  purchase   is  well  developed,  the  custom  of  nego- 
tiating a  marriage  through  marriage-brokers  is  very  Marriage-brokers 
general.     These   agents  may  or    may  not    be  kins- 
men or  women.     A  high  bride-price  is,  as  we   have 
seen,  a  factor  in   postponing  and  therefore  a  restric- 
tion   upon    marriage.     As    it    is    not    uncommonly 
thought  derogatory  to  the  woman's  family  to  marry 
her  off  for  less  than  the  customary  bride-price,  female 
as  well  as  male  celibacy,  may  even  result  from  an 
inelastic,   so   to   speak,   bride-price.     The  custom   of 
female  infanticide   has  even  been  alleged  by  those 
practising  it  to  be  due  to  the  fear  of  not  obtaining  an 
honourable  bride-price  for  the  maiden. 

'  See  p.  161  for  the  social  importance  of  connubium  between  groups. 


i68 


The  Family 


Parental  rights 
Inherited,  shared 
or  usurped 


Legal  age  of 

consent 


Necessity  of 
correspondence 
between  ages  of 
bride  and  groom 

Of  marriage 
within  the  same 
generation 


Marriage  of  elder 
before  younger 
brothers  or  sisters 


Australian 
marriage  classes 


(6)  The  parents'  right  of  choice  may  be  inherited, 
or  may  be  shared  by  other  male  kinsmen.  Under 
group-rule  by  elders,  village  community,  feudal  or 
monarchical  systems,  .this  right  may  be  shared  or 
wholly  usurped  by  the  group-elders,  village  council, 
chief  overlord  or  king. 

The  requiring  of  an  arbitrary  age  at  marriage,  the 
forbidding  of  marriage  prior  to  initiation,  and  the 
requiring  of  marriage  prior  to  a  given  age  may  also 
be  considered  restrictions  upon  sexual  choice.  The 
requirement  of  some  arbitrary  correspondence  be- 
tween the  ages  of  the  bride  and  groom  is  another 
restriction.  Marriage  within  the  same  generation 
may,  where  age-classes  are  well  defined,  for  example, 
be  required.  In  some  communities  the  custom  also 
exists  of  preventing  younger  brothers  or  sisters 
marrying  before  elder.  Child-betrothal  or  marriage 
and  the  marriage  of  adults  to  children  may  also  of 
course  be  accounted  age  restrictions.  Again,  age 
may  combine  with  economic  restrictions  where,  for 
example,  only  the  older  men  can  afford  young  wives 
and,  through  their  monopoly,  force  the  young  men 
into  celibacy  or  marriage  with  widows. 

Among  the  natives  of  Australia  are  found  so-called 
marriage  classes,  the  members  of  one  class  being 
allowed  to  marry  only  the  members  of  another  corre- 
sponding class.  These  classes  are  not  identical  with 
the  Australian  totem  clan,  phratry,  or  age-class, 
although  there  seems  to  be  some  kind  of  corre- 
spondence between  all  these  social  divisions.  The 
subject  is  very  obscure  and  has  given  rise  to  much 
controversy. 

As   was  suggested    at  the  outset,  facts  of  sexual 


Sexual  Choice  169 

choice  stand  in  important  relations  to  the  family  and  standpoints  for 

.     1  ...  1         A  1  investigation  of 

to  social  organisation  in  general.  As  was  also  stated,  influence  of  sexuai 

we  shall  not  undertake  the  analysis  of  their  relations,  *^  °'=='°  society 

an  analysis  which  merits  patient  and  thorough  study  ; 

but  it  may  be  well  to  suggest  a  few  standpoints  from 

which  the  subject  should  be  considered.       It  is  plain  sexuai  choice  and 

..  .  .  1*1  !••  f    fo*""^  ^^'^  duration 

that  there   is  a  close  relation  between  conditions  01  of  marriage 
sexual  choice  and  the  form  and  duration  of  marriage. 
Entire    deprivation    of   sexual    choice,   for   example,  Effect  of 

,  ,  -      ,  -  ,  ,  deprivation  of 

through  one  or  more  ot  the  factors  we  have  been  con-  sexuai  choice 
sidering,  through  child-betrothal  or  marriage,  let  us 
say,  works  against  the  duration  of  marriage.     Sexual 
choice  is  exercised  at  another  time,  in  this  case,  at  a 
later  age.    Again  in  temporary  forms  of  sexual  inter-  Effect  of  temporary 
course,  either  there  is  no  sexual  choice  on  the  woman's  ^^""^allTuIi'lhllcs 
part  (rape,  certain  forms  of  prostitution,  sexual  hospi- 
tality), or  on  the  part  of  both  man  or  woman  the  choice 
is  only  partial,  z.  e.,  either  man  or  woman  is  chosen  only 
for  momentary  satisfaction.   Similarly  sexual  choice  in 
polygyny  will  probably  vary  from  that  in  monogamy,  sexuai  choice  in 
In  the  former  each  wife  may  be  chosen  for  a  different  p^'^^^"^ 
reason,  just  as  each  wife,  as  we  shall  see  later,  may 
have  a  different  conjugal  task.     In  monogamy,  on  the  in  monogamy 
other  hand,  a  woman,  in  order  to  be  chosen,   may 
have  to  combine  many  desirable  traits.      It  is  plain, 
therefore,  that  marriage  and  particular  forms  of  mar- 
riage will  encourage  the  propagation  through  sexual 
selection  of  a  certain  set  of  characters,  whereas  tem- 
porary sexual  intercourse,  or  other  forms  of  marriage  intermarriage 
will  encouragfe  another  set.    Rules  of   intermarriagfe 
have  a  vital  effect  as  social  ties  or  barriers  between 
groups.      It  has  been  pointed  out,  for  example,  that 
clan-exogamy  has  been  highly  influential  in  turning 


II 


I70  The  Family 

otherwise  hostile  into  united  groups.  Exogamous 
rules,  as  well  as  lack  of  freedom  in  general,  may,  on 
the  other  hand,  build  up  barriers  of  social  intercourse 
between  classes  and  between  individuals.  Notable  in 
this  connection,  as  extreme  illustrations  of  such  tenden- 
cies, are  the  various  practices  of  ceremonial  avoidance 
between  relatives  by  blood  or  marriage.  The  custom 
Ceremonial  avoid-     of  brother-sister,  particularly  brother-i'^?^«<^<;'r  sister, 

<in<r^  at  times  an  .  r       1  •       l  11  ^  o 

incest  regulation  motlicr-son,  tather-m-law  -  daughter-iu-law,  mother- 
in-law -son-in-law  avoidance  has  been  explained  in 
various  ways  and  it  may  be  due  to  various  causes. 
Nevertheless  it  is  in  many  cases  undoubtedly  an 
incest  regulation. 

NOTE    A 

Courtship. 

Westermarck,    The   History  of  Human   Marriage,    chap, 
viii. 

The  Odyssey,    Books    xxi.-xxii.    (Testing    of    Penelope's 
suitors). 
Restrictions  upon  Sexual  Choice. 

Westermarck,    The  History  of  Human   Marriage,    chap. 
xvi. 

Post,  Familienrechts,  pp.  220-234. 

Lasch,  Der  Selbstmord  aus  erotischen  Alotiven  hei  den  primi- 
tive n  Volkern  in  Zt.  f.  Sociahu.,  ii.,  Sl^  ff- 
Among  Natives  of  Australia. 

Howitt,  Native  Tribes  of  South- East  Australia,  c\\CiY>.  v. 
Consanguineous  Restrictions, 

Post,  Familietirechts,  pp.  79-87;   Grundriss,  etc.,  i.,  32-42. 

Huth,  The  Marriage  of  Near  Kin,  London,  1875. 

Reports  of  the    Cambridge   Authropological    Expedition    to 
Torres  Straits,  Cambridge  1904,  vol.  v.,  sec.  ix. 

Pahlavi  Texts,  vol.  xviii.,  in  The  Sacred  Books  of  the  East, 
ii.,  app.  iii.,  pp.  389-430  (Persian  next-of-kin  marriage), 

Garcilasso    de  la  Vega,    The  Royal  Commentaries  of  the 
Yncas,  i.,  308-310  (royal  brother-sister  marriage). 


Sexual  Choice  171 

Clan  Exogamv. 

Frazer,  Totetnism,  pp.  58-69. 
Legal  restrictions  upon  marriage  (in  legal  sense)   in   United 
States.     (Age,  prohibited  degrees,  void  and  voidable  mar- 
riage, etc.,  legal  formality  in  contractmg  marriage,  etc.) 

Wright,  A  Report  upon  Marriage. and  Divorce  in  the  United 
States,  pp.  28-60. 

Religious  Celibacy. 

Lea,  The  History  of  Sacerdotal  Celibacy. 

NOTE   B 

Sexual  Selection. 

Sexual  selection  is  a  variety  of  natural  selection.  The 
strongest,  swiftest,  bravest,  most  sagacious,  most  beautiful, 
or  in  other  respects  most  pleasing  individuals  will  be  the 
most  successful  in  the  struggle  that  is  waged  between  mem- 
bers of  the  same  sex  in  securing  mates.  They  will  leave  the 
most  numerous  progeny,  and  thereby  propagate  their  own 
characteristics.  The  selective  influence  of  sexual  choice 
accounts  for  many  secondary  sexual  characters.  Darwin, 
The  Descent  of  Man,  chap,  viii.,  pp.  210-224. 

Secondary  sexual  characters  are  the  outcome  merely  of 
natural  selection.  Colours,  for  example,  are  developed  not 
because  they  are  pleasing  to  mates  but  because  they  are 
characteristic  of  male  vigour.  The  most  vigorous  males, 
therefore,  will  propagate  their  colouring.  Wallace,  Tropical 
Nature,  "^"P-  221-248  ;  Darwinism,  New  York,  1889,  chap.  x. 

Review  of  Darwin  and  Wallace.  Typical  beauty  is  the 
full  development  of  visible  characteristics  belonging  to  the 
human  organism  in  general ;  of  those  peculiar  to  the  sex;  of 
those  peculiar  to  the  race.  Westermarck,  The  History  of 
Human  Marriage,  chaps,  xi.,  xii. 

Sexual  selection  is  only  a  directive  factor  in  the  differen- 
tiation of  secondary  sexual  characters.  These  characters 
are  the  outcome  of  the  primary  sex  difference,  a  difference 
in  metabolism.  Thompson  and  Geddes,  The  Evolution  of 
Sex,  London,  1901,  chap.  ii. 


172  The  Family 

The  Origin  of  Exogamy. 

In  marriage  by  capture  due  to  female  infanticide  and  con- 
sequent scarcity  of  females.  McLennan,  Studies,  etc.,  pp. 
75-77  ;  also  Studies,  etc..  Sec.  Ser.,  chap,  vi. 

Marriage  by  capture.  Female  infanticide  was  a  result  of 
exogamy.  Among  the  lowest  groups,  male  as  frequent  as  fe- 
male infanticide.  Latter  implies  prudence  and  forethought 
unpossessed  by  those  groups.  Lubbock,  The  Origin  of 
Civilisation,  pp.  70,  72,  93. 

Female  infanticide  is  a  result,  not  a  cause  of  marriage  by 
capture;  for  the  lot  of  captured  wives  is  unhappy,  and 
knowing  this  their  mothers  kill  their  female  infants.  Again 
a  group  is  unwilling  to  bring  up  girls  merely  to  be  captured 
by  their  enemies.  Kautsky,  Die  Entstehung  der  Ehe,  etc., 
p.  261. 

Marriage  by  capture.  Captured  wives  are  war  trophies 
and  therefore  honourable.  Exogamy  passed  from  being  hon- 
ourable to  being  required,  non-possession  of  a  foreign  wife 
being  a  proof  of  cowardice,  Spencer,  The  Principles  of 
Sociology,  New  York,  1898,  part  iii.,  p.  633. 

Exogamy  preceded  marriage  by  capture.  The  latter  was 
a  result  of  aversion  to  near  marriage.  Hellwald,  Die 
Menschliche  Familie,  p.  280. 

Marriage  by  capture  is  too  infrequent  to  have  given  rise 
to  exogamy.     Crawley,  The  Mystic  Rose,  p.  370. 

Due  to  desire  to  secure  survival  of  tribe  by  outside  alli- 
ances. Endogamy  is  a  policy  of  isolation.  The  alternative 
is  between  marrying  out  and  being  killed  out.  Tylor,  On  a 
Method,  etc.,  pp.  266-268. 

Marriage,  in  itself  a  legal  relation,  was  not  possible 
between  persons  who  as  members  of  the  same  clan  or  family 
already  stood  in  a  legal  relation  to  one  another.  Starcke, 
The  Primitive  Fainily,  pp.  231-232. 

The  giving  of  sisters  to  men  of  other  groups  was  an  act  of 
propitiation,  they  therefore  came  to  be  especially  set  aside 
for  such  disposition,  and  union  with  their  own  brethren  was 
prohibited.  Giddings,  Note  on  the  Origin  of  Totemism  and 
Exogamy  in  Annals  of  the  American  Academy  of  Political  and 
Social  Science,  xiv.  (1899),  p.  275. 


Sexual  Choice  173 

Originally  sexual  intercourse  could  be  accomplished  only 
through  force  or  cunning.  These  methods  were  condemned 
within  a  peace  group.  Consequently  wives  had  to  be  con- 
quered outside  of  the  group.  Bernhoft,  Zur  geschichte  des 
Europdischen  Familieiu  echts  in  Zt.  f.  vergleichende  Rechtswis- 
senschaft,  viii.,  pp.  184-189. 

Young  males  were  excluded  from  fam.ily  through  jealousy 
of  father  or  male  head.  They  were  readmitted  on  condition 
of  respecting  father's  right  to  women  of  group,/,  e.,  his 
wives  and  daughter-wives.  Young  males  were  therefore 
forced  into  procuring  females  from  outside.  Their  rights 
to  these  captured  females  were  in  turn  respected  by  the 
father.  Father-daughter  marriage  came  to  be  precluded  by 
an  appreciation  of  the  advantages  of  marrying  off  sisters  to 
outside  suitors  and  by  female  jealousy.  Atkinson,  Social 
Origins  and  Primal  Laiv,  pp.  229-238,  250-260, 

Exogamy  does  not  of  course  originate  in  the  desire  to  add 
new  working  members  to  the  kinsfolk  group,  but  among  the 
lower  types  of  tillers  of  the  soil  exogamy  is  widespread 
because  of  this  motive.  Grosse,  Die  Formen  der  Familie^ 
etc.,  p.  173. 

The  Origin  of  Aversion  to  Incest. 

In  the  sentiment  that  evil  would  come  of  consanguineous 
marriage.     Morgan,  Ancient  Society,  New  York,  1887,  p.  69. 

Consanguineous  marriages  are  detrimental  to  the  species, 
therefore  by  natural  selection  an  instinct  against  them 
comes  to  be  developed.  This  is  expressed  as  an  aversion  to 
sexual  intercourse  with  house-mates.  Westermarck,  The 
History  of  Hu7na7i  Marriage,  pp.  352-353. 

Early  associated  with  the  feeling  that  it  is  not  decent  for 
house-mates  to  marry.  Smith,  Robertson  W.,  Kinship  and 
Marriage  in  Early  Arabia,  p.  201. 

All  sexual  intercourse  is  dangerous  and  especially  that 
between  those  in  close  contact.  Sexual  taboo  in  general 
concentrates  upon  house-mates,  therefore  they  are  to  be 
avoided  in  marriage.    Crawley,  The  Mystic  Rose,  pp.  222,  443. 

Marriage  by  capture  was  originally  the  only  form  of  mar- 
riage. Aversion  to  incest  was  consequently  the  correlative 
to  exogamy.     McLennan,  Studies,  etc.,  Sec.  Ser.,  p.  65. 


174  The  Family 

The  horror  of  incest  is  the  result  of  clan  exogamy.  Ex- 
ogamy is  one  form  of  sexual  taboo.  Because  of  the  primitive 
belief  that  the  blood  is  the  life,  woman  through  her  special 
sexual  crises  is  closer  to  the  clan  totem  than  man.  Women  of 
the  same  clan  as  one's  own  are  therefore  dangerous  and  to 
be  avoided.  Durkheim,  La  Prohibition  de  I  'Inces/e  et  ccs 
origines  in  L  ' Anne'e  Sociologii]tit',  1S96-1897. 

Based  on  the  biological  need  of  stimulating  the  blood 
through  intermixture  ;  reinforced  through  the  dislike  of 
intermarrying  with  house-mates,  and  through  male  jealousy. 
Moreover,  as  soon  as  groups  become  larger,  the  satisfaction 
of  sexual  desire  becomes  too  easy  from  the  point  of  view  of 
health.  Exogamy  was  a  means  of  confining  sexual  inter- 
course within  hygienic  limits.  Then  it  became  a  means  of 
strengthening  intergroup  ties.  It  was  therefore  a  means  of 
both  individual  and  group  selection.  Steinmetz,  Die  ncueren 
Forschungen  zur  Geschichte  der  tnenschlichen  Faj/iilie  in 
Zt.  f.  Sociahv.,  ii.  (1899),  821. 

Ceremonial  Avoidance. 

Due  to  indignation  prompted  by  marriage  by  capture. 
Lubbock,  The  Origin  of  Civilisation,  pp.  84-S5. 

Sometimes  an  expression  of  respect  for  parents-in-law. 
Starcke,  The  Primitive  Family,  pp.  239-240. 

It  is  causally  connected  with  facts  of  residence,  and  it  is 
expressive  of  a  man's  position  as  an  "outsider"  in  his  wife's 
family.     Tylor,  On  a  Method,  etc.,  pp.  246-252. 

Just  as  a  man  after  he  is  7nade  a  man  avoids  physical 
intimacy  with  his  own  mother  from  sexual  taboo,  jigiampe 
duty  (taboo  on  house-mates),  and  inequality  of  age,  so 
a  fortiori  he  avoids  it  with  his  mother-in-law.  The  mother- 
in-law  also  receives  the  onus  of  the  sexual  taboo  that  is 
broken  between  her  daughter  and  son-in-law.  Crawley, 
The  Mystic  Rose,  pp.  399-414. 

The  Relation  between  Age-Classes  and  Incest  Regulation. 

First    incest  prohibitions   were  based  on   as;e-classes.     A 

man  could  not  marry  women  of  his  mother's  or  daughter's 

age-class.     Then  marriage  between  brothers  and  sisters,  and 


Sexual  Choice  175 

sometimes  cousins  in  the  first  degree.  This  soon  brought 
up  horde  exogamy,  in  view  of  the  small  size  of  the  horde. 
The  totem  became  the  sign  of  the  exogamous  consanguineous 
group  formed  through  horde  exogamy,  and  clan  exogamy  is 
the  result.  Cunow,  Bases  economiques  du  jnatriarcat  in  Le 
Devenir  Social^  iv.,  46-51. 

Australian  Marriage-Classes. 

On  southern  coast  of  South  Australia,  part  of  the  west  coast 
of  Western  Australia,  and  the  south-western  coastal  district 
of  Victoria  and  New  South  Wales,  the  old  men  appoint  young 
married  or  unmarried  women  tooar  to  certain  boys.  They 
are  henceforward  forbidden  to  speak  or  look  at  one  another. 
The  daughter  the  woman  may  bear  she  is  expected  to  give, 
when  old  enough,  to  the  young  man  to  whom  she  is  tooar^ 
and  if  he  have  a  sister  he  is  expected  to  give  her  to  one  of 
the  woman's  sons  in  exchange  for  his  own  wife.  Marriage 
classes  arose  from  the  practice  of  this  custom  by  coalescing 
tribes.  Mathews,  The  Origin,  Organisation,  and  Ceremonies  of 
the  Australian  Aborigines  in  Proceedings  of  the  American 
Philosophical  Society,  xxxix.  (i goo),  560-570. 

They  are  the  outcome  of  clan  exogamy.  In  the  matro- 
nymic  clan,  part  of  the  clan  will  always  live  on  territory  be- 
longing to  another  clan,  because  wives  live  in  their  husbands* 
groups.  Occupation  of  the  same  territory  is  assimilated  to 
possession  of  the  same  totem.  Intermarriage  therefore  be- 
tween the  members  of  clans  living  on  the  same  territory  is 
forbidden  and  altertiating  marriage  classes  arise.  Durkheim, 
La  Prohibitioji  de  I  'Ificeste  et  ses  Origines  in  Z  'Ann/e  Sociolo- 
gique  (1896-1897),  pp.  11-25. 

Arise  in  transition  from  matronymy  to  patronymy.  Aver- 
sion to  marriage  into  the  maternal  tribal  moiety  persists  and 
necessitates  a  new  subdivision  into  eight  matrimonial  classes. 
Durkheim,  Organisation  Matrimoniale  Australienne  in 
L  'Ann^e  Sociologique,  viii.,  134—136. 

There  were  two  original  marriage  classes,  based  on  the  cus- 
tom of  reckoning  descent  and  kinship  through  one  parent 
only.  These  two  classes  were  subdivided  into  parent  and  child 
grades.  Wake,  The  Nature  and  Origin  of  Group  Marriage  in 
/.  A.  r.,  xiii.,  155. 


1/6  The  Family 


Deliberate  arrangements.  The  effect  of  the  division  of 
the  tribe  into  two  exogamous  halves  with  all  the  children 
of  the  same  mother  ranged  on  the  same  side  is  to  prevent 
the  marriage  of  brothers  with  sisters  ;  that  into  four  exo- 
gamous quarters,  coupled  with  the  rules  that  every  person 
may  marry  only  into  one  quarter,  and  that  the  children  must 
belong  to  a  quarter  which  is  neither  that  of  their  father  nor 
that  of  their  mother,  is  to  prevent  the  marriage  of  parents 
with  children.  Frazer,  The  Beginnings  of  Religion  and 
Tote  mis  m  in  The  Fortnightly  Review,  Sept.,  1905. 

A  deliberately  imposed  institution  to  prevent  marriage 
between  persons  of  parental  and  filial  generations.  Animal- 
named  sub-phratries  may  have  been  converted  into  the 
mechanism  of  the  classes.  Lang,  The  Secret  of  the  Totetn, 
p.  187. 

Originally  non-intermarrying  divisions  of  a  horde  based 
on  three  stages  of  seniority.  Prior  to  totem  clans  and 
phratries.     Cunow,  Der  Australneger,  p.  24. 

NOTE    C 

Study  the  struggle  of  sexual  selection  in  polygyny.  Make  a 
study  of  suicide  for  love  as  a  result  of  social  checks  on  freedom 
of  sexual  choice.  Make  a  comparative  study  (i)  of  restrictions 
upon  sexual  choice  based  upon  affinity;  (2)  of  punishments  for 
incest;  (3)  of  territorial  marriage  restrictions  in  connection  with 
prevailing  kinship  systems;  (4)  of  motives  determining  parental 
choice  in  marriage;  (5)  of  age  restrictions.  Is  there  any  relation 
between  growth  of  demand  for  female  chastity  before  marriage 
and  clan  exogamy  or  endogamy?  Make  a  thorough  study  of 
ceremonial  ai'oidance  in  connection  with  prevailing  endogamous 
or  exogamous  marriage  rules. 

NOTE     D 
Veddahs : 

They  are  endogamous.  p.  485.  In  certain  districts  fifty  years 
ago  (1842)  sister  and  daughter  marriage  occurred.  In  others 
the  younger  and  not  the  older  sister  was  married,  p.  467. 

Yahgan : 

Strongest  and  most  redoubtable  suitor  always  preferred.  H. 
and  D.,  vii.,  378. 


Sexual  Choice  177 

Marriage  generally  endogamous.  x.,  334.  A  few  cases  are 
known  where  a  man  has  had  a  mother  and  daughter  for  wives  ; 
but  generally  there  is  a  great  horror  of  marriage  between  near 
relatives,     vii.,  182. 

Very  often  old  men  have  one  or  two  young  wives.  Sometimes 
old  women  have  young  husbands,  but  similarity  of  age  the  most 
general  custom.  H.  and  D.,  vii.,  378.  Because  of  common  habit 
of  marrying  girls  to  older  men,  it  often  happens  that  young  men 
find  only  widows  to  marry,  vii.,  174. 

Central  Australians  : 

Whilst  an  undoubted  fact  that  marriage  by  charming  is  actu- 
ally practised,  not  probable  that  it  is  of  very  frequent  occurrence, 
for  everything  depends  on  the  acquiescence  of  the  woman,  and 
with  the  sure  knowledge  that  if  caught  in  act  of  deserting  man  to 
whom  she  has  been  assigned  she  will  meet  with  very  severe  pun- 
ishment and  in  all  probability  be  put  to  death,  while  even  if  not 
caught  she  is  almost  certain  to  come  in  for  rough  handling  during 
ensuing  quarrel,  she  is  not  very  easily  charmed  away  from  her 
original  possessor.  Still  she  sometimes  is,  and  this  method 
allows  of  breaking  through  of  hard  and  fast  rule  which  for 
the  most  part  obtains  and  according  to  which  woman  belongs 
to  man  to  whom  she  has  been  betrothed  probably  before  her 
birth,  pp.  543-544.  If,  through  marriage  by  charming,  a  man 
obtains  wife  of  another,  and  the  latter  comes  armed,  as  he  most 
likely  will,  to  resent  the  interference,  then  the  men  who  belong  to 
group  of  aggressor  will  stand  by  latter  and  support  his  claims,  if 
necessary  by  fighting,  p.  542.  Under  no  circumstances  would 
a  man  be  aided  in  securing  a  woman,  by  charming,  of  a  class  into 
which  he  might  not  lawfully  marry,  nor  would  he,  even  if  suc- 
cessful in  doing  so,  receive  any  assistance  from  his  friends  in 
event  of  a  quarrel  arising,  as  it  certainly  would,  in  connection 
with  the  abduction,  p.  542.  Occasionally,  but  rarely,  it  hap- 
pens that  a  man  attempts  to  prevent  his  wife's  Piraungaru  from 
having  access  to  her,  but  this  leads  to  a  fight  and  husband  is 
looked  upon  as  churlish,     p.  63. 

The  whole  tribe  {Urabunna)  is  divided  up  into  two  exogamous 
intermarrying  classes  (Matthurie  and  Kirarawa);  the  members  of 
each  of  these  again  are  divided  into  a  series  of  totemic  groups. 
A  Matthurie  man  must  marry  a  Kirarawa  woman  and  a  man  of 


178  The  Family 

one  totem  must  marry  a  woman  of  another  totem,  certain  totems 
being  confined  to  each  of  the  exogamous  classes,    p.  60. 

Among  the  Arunta  the  totem  has  nothing  whatever  to  do  with 
regulating  marriage,     p.  34. 

In  each  tribe  at  the  particular  time  when  a  woman  is  being 
handed  over  to  one  particular  man,  especial  individuals  repre- 
senting groups  with  which  at  ordinary  times  she  may  have  no 
intercourse,  have  right  of  access  to  her.  In  majority  of  tribes 
even  tribal  brothers  are  included  amongst  them.  It  is  at  least 
very  probable  that  this  custom  is  regarded  as  pointing  back  to 
former  existence  of  an  exercise  of  wider  marital  rights  than  those 
which  now  obtain  in  the  various  tribes,     p.  96. 

Should  any  man  break  through  the  strict  marriage  laws,  head 
men  of  group  or  groups  concerned  consult  together  with  elder 
men,  and  if  offender,  after  long  consultation,  be  adjudged 
guilty  and  the  determination  be  arrived  at  that  he  is  to  be  put  to 
death — a  by  no  means  purely  hypothetical  case — then  the  same 
elder  men  make  arrangements  to  carry  the  sentence  out,  and  a 
party  is  organised  for  the  purpose,  p.  15.  Sexual  jealousy  not 
developed  to  anything  like  extent  to  which  it  would  appear  to  be 
in  many  other  savage  tribes.  For  a  man  to  have  unlawful  inter- 
course with  any  woman  arouses  a  feeling  which  is  due  not  so  much 
to  jealousy  as  to  fact  that  delinquent  has  infringed  upon  a  tribal 
custom.  If  the  intercourse  has  been  with  a  woman  who  belongs 
to  the  class  from  which  his  wife  comes,  then  he  is  called  atna 
nylkna  (vulva-thief);  if  with  one  with  whom  it  is  unlawful  for 
him  to  have  intercourse,  iturka,  the  most  opprobrious  term  in 
the  Arunta  tongue.  In  the  one  case  he  has  merely  stolen  prop- 
erty.    In  the  other  he  has  offended  against  tribal  law.     p,  99. 

The  initiation  in  regard  to  establishing  relationship  of  Piraun- 
garu  between  a  man  and  a  woman  must  be  taken  by  elder 
brother,  but  arrangement  must  receive  sanction  of  old  men  of 
group  before  it  can  take  effect,     p.  6t,. 

A  man  can  only  marry  women  who  stand  to  him  in  rela- 
tionship of  Ni4pa,  or  else  are  children  of  his  mother's  elder 
brothers,  blood  or  tribal,  or  what  is  the  same  thing,  of  his 
father's  elder  sisters,     p.  61. 

When  a  man  lends  his  wife,  he  only  does  so  to  a  member  of 
his  own  group,  that  is  to  a  man  to  whom,  without  having  been 


Sexual  Choice  179 

allotted  to  him,  the  woman  stands  in  the  relationship  of  Unawa 
just  as  she  does  to  the  man  to  whom  she  has  been  allotted,  p.  74, 

Point  Barrow  Eskimo  : 

A  man  desires  to  obtain  a  wife  who  will  perform  her  house- 
hold duties  well  and  faithfully  and  will  be  at  same  time  an 
agreeable  companion,  while  he  often  plans  to  marry  into  a  rich 
or  influential  family.  The  woman  appears  to  desire  a  husband 
who  is  industrious  and  a  good  hunter.  There  were  nevertheless 
indications  that  real  love  matches  sometimes  took  place,  p.  410. 
One  case  was  observed  where  a  young  man's  mother  selected  a 
girl  and  invited  her  to  cook  and  perform  other  kitchen  duties. 
Her  conduct  proving  satisfactory,  she  was  invited  to  become  a 
member  of  the  family,  p.  410.  In  one  case  a  man  attempted  by 
blows  to  coerce  a  girl  to  live  with  him,  but  he  was  unsuccessful. 

P-  413- 

A  man  usually  selects  a  wife  about  his  own  age,  but  reasons  of 
interest  sometimes  lead  to  a  great  disparity  of  age  between  the 
two.  There  were  several  men  who  had  married  widows  or 
divorced  women  old  enough  to  be  their  mothers,     p.  411. 

Behring  Strait  Eskimo  : 

Stated  that  anciently  when  a  husband  and  a  lover  quarrelled 
about  a  woman  they  were  disarmed  by  neighbours  and  then  set- 
tled the  trouble  with  their  fists  or  by  wrestling,  the  victor  taking 
the  woman,     p.  292. 

Unalit  frequently  marry  first  cousins  or  remote  blood  relatives 
with  idea  that  in  such  a  case  wife  is  nearer  to  her  hus- 
band. One  man  said  that  in  case  of  famine  if  a  man's  wife  was 
from  another  family  she  would  steal  the  food  from  him  to  save 
her  own  life,  while  her  husband  would  die  of  starvation,  but 
should  a  woman  be  of  his  own  blood  she  would  share  with  him. 
p,  291.  Brothers  and  sisters,  step-brothers  and  step-sisters  do 
not  intermarry,     p.  291. 

Central  Eskimo  : 

Sometimes  men  choose  their  wives  when  grown  up  and  some- 
times a  long  wooing  precedes  marriage,     p.  579. 

Cousins,  nephew  and  niece,  uncle  and  aunt,  not  allowed  to 
intermarry,     p.  579 


I  So  The  Family 


Wyandots  : 

Marriage  between  members  of  same  clan  forbidden,  p.  63. 
In  polygyny  wives  must  belong  to  a  different  clan,  p.  63.  Men 
and  women  must  marry  within  the  tribe.  For  a  man  or  woman 
without  the  tribe  to  be  married  he  or  she  must  be  adopted  into 
some  family  of  clan  other  than  that  to  which  other  party  belongs. 
p.  63. 

A  man  seeking  a  wife  consults  her  mother,  sometimes  direct, 
sometimes  through  his  own  mother.  Mother  of  girl  advises  with 
women  councillors  to  obtain  their  consent  and  young  people 
usually  submit  quietly  to  their  decision.  Sometimes  women 
councillors  consult  with  the  men.     pp.  63-64. 

Melanesians  : 

Florida  :  In  old  time,  in  case  of  intercourse  between  two  mem- 
bers of  same  kin  division,  man  was  killed  and  woman  made  a 
harlot.  Now  money  and  pigs  can  condone  offence.  Banks' Isls.: 
People  of  the  other  kin  division  would  come  and  destroy 
gardens  of  those  who  belonged  to  that  in  which  offence  had  been 
committed  without  incurring  resistance  or  complaint.  Lepers' 
Isl.:  Man  had  also  to  make  large  payment  to  near  relatives  of 
woman.  Cases  of  incest,  intercourse  between  kin,  were  rare  in 
all  the  islands,  so  strong  and  fundamental  was  the  feeling  against 
it.  pp.  23-24.  Araga,  Pentecost  Isl.:  Marriages  within  kin  di- 
vision not  unknown,  but  contractors  despised  and  even  abhorred, 
although  money  and  pigs  having  been  given  and  received,  the 
marriage  stands,     p.  26. 

Banks' Isls. :  Mutual  avoidance  practised  between  a  man  and 
his  mother-in-law.  Lepers'  Isl.:  A  man  speaks  to  his  mother-in- 
law,  but  will  not  approach  her.  New  Hebrides  :  As  soon  as 
boy  puts  on  clothing  and  goes  to  live  at  club-house,  life-long 
avoidance  of  mother  and  sisters  begins.  He  may  go  to  father's 
house  to  ask  for  food,  but  if  his  sister  is  within  he  has  to  go  away 
before  he  eats.  If  by  chance  he  meets  her  in  the  path,  she  runs 
away  and  hides.  Reserve  between  mother  and  son  increases  as 
boy  grows  up.  If  he  asks  her  for  food,  she  does  not  give  it 
to  him  directly,  but  puts  it  down  for  him  to  take.  She  speaks  to 
him  in  the  plural,  and  sits  at  a  little  distance  from  him,  turned 
away.  p.  232.  Girls  were  never  allowed  to  go  about  alone  with- 
out mother  or  elder  friend,     p.  236. 


Sexual  Choice  i8i 

Banks'  Isls. :    Within   the  2  kin    divisions,    there   are   certain 
families  who  endeavour  to  keep  up  by  intermarriage  the  family 
connection  of  which  they  are  proud,     p.  25. 
Ewe-Speaking  Peoples: 

Clan  exogamy  practised.  Not  now  always  scrupulously  ob- 
served by  sea-board  tribes,     p.  207. 

When  a  brother  inherits  a  brother's  wives  more  usual  (never 
necessary)  for  union  to  be  consummated  than  when  a  nephew  is 
heir.     p.  205. 

A  boy  adopted  by  a  priest  may  not  marry  one  of  priest's 
children,     p.  144.) 
Tshi-Speaking  Peoples: 

Considered  very  disgraceful  for  a  girl  to  have  intercourse  with 
an  Odonko  (imported  slave  from  interior  to  north  of  Ashanti,  of 
exceedingly  low  mentality  and  inferior  to  natives),     p.  289. 

Marriage  within   the  clan    forbidden.     (See    Yoruba- Speaking 
Peoples,  p.)  297.     On  Gold  Coast  marriages  of  half-brothers  and 
half-sisters  by  different  mothers  permitted,     p.  188 
Yoruba-Speaking  Peoples: 

Marriage  within  known  circle  of  consanguinity  forbidden,  p. 
176.  As  a  rule  relationship  not  traced  farther  than  second 
cousins,     p.  188. 

Affinity  no  bar.    A  man  may  even  marry  mother  and  daughter, 
but  such  marriages  do  not  often  occur,     p.  188. 
Thompson  River  Indians. 

Many  women  have  married  white  settlers  of  all  European 
nations.  On  other  hand,  hardly  any  mixture  with  Chinese  and 
negroes,  largely  owing  to  fact  that  majority  of  Indians  look  with 
contempt  upon  these  races,     p.  179. 

Cousins  forbidden  to  marry,  because  of  one  blood,  similar  to 
sisters  and  brothers;  and  union  of  distant  blood  relations  dis- 
countenanced. Even  if  second  cousins  married  they  were  laughed 
at  and  talked  about,     p.  325. 

A  widower  expected  to  seek  another  wife  among  sisters  or 
relatives  of  deceased  wife.     p.  325. 

The  Lower  Thompsons  favoured  marriage  between  members  of 
different  villages,     p.  325. 

Youths  when  at  home  never  washed  in  close  proximity  to  mar- 
ried 'people.     If  a  youth  should  enter  a  sweat-house  where  a 


I»2 


The  Family 


married  couple  were  or  had  been  sweat-bathing  together  he  would 
become  a  poor  man.  p.  321.  At  puberty  a  girl  was  at  once 
separated  from  all  other  people.  She  was  segregated  in  a 
special  hut  for  4  months;  in  ancient  times,  the  Indians  say,  for  a 
year.     pp.  31 1-3 17. 

Seems  to  have  been  an  inclination  on  part  of  those  who  were 
wealthier,  more  successful,  or  more  industrious,  and  some  more 
distinguished  than  others  to  marry  their  children  to  other  wealthy 
people.  The  warrior  preferred  to  marry  his  child  to  that  of 
another  warrior  equally  as  distinguished  as  himself;  the  hunter  to 
marry  his  child  to  the  child  of  another  hunter  or  of  some  enter- 
prising or  industrious  person  rather  than  to  the  child  of  a  fisher- 
man,    p.  325. 

In  most  cases  husband  is  about  5  years  older  than  wife;  but  it 
was  by  no  means  a  rare  occurrence  for  a  girl  to  marry  a  man  of 
forty  or  fifty.  In  these  cases  man  was  almost  always  a  widower 
or  already  married.  Young  men  seldom  married  women  much 
older  than  themselves  except  in  cases  where  a  younger  brother 
had  to  take  his  older  brother's  widow,     p.  322. 

Kabyles  : 

Imecheddalen.  Thdmamth  of  a  virgin  fixed  at  50  reals,  plus  2 
sheep  valued  at  8  reals  apiece;  of  a  divorced  woman  at  70  reals 
to  husband,  and  2  sheep,  from  8  to  10  reals  in  value,  to  father 
or  brother  of  woman;  of  a  widow,  30  reals  and  2  sheep,  at  8 
reals,  to  her  relatives.  He  who  receives  more  than  these  sums 
pays  over  to  the  village  council  whole  value  of  the  thdmamth 
plus  a  fine  of  20  reals,     iii.,  417. 

Marriage  with  a  negress  not  theoretically  forbidden,  but  a 
man's  family  would  oppose  it,  and  he  would  be  forced  into  exile, 
ii.,  164.  Village  of  Afenson,  some  sons  killed  their  father  for 
marrying  a  negress,  and  this  act  was  publicly  approved, 
iii.,  loi. 

Moslem  restrictions  are  observed,  ii.,  163-164.  Those  guilty 
of  incest  with  children  of  such  unions  stoned  to  death,     ii.,  170. 

Ait  Ali  Ou  Illoul.  If  a  man  sell  wife  who  has  left  him  to  a  man 
of  the  tribe  he  can  ask  only  for  the  value  of  the  thdmamth  that  he 
originally  paid  for  her.  If  he  attempt  to  sell  her  to  a  stranger 
he  is  fined  an  amount  equal  to  that  which  he  would  have  re- 
ceived for  her,  bargain  is  void,  and  woman  is  free  to  marry 


Sexual  Choice  183 

whomever  she  wish,    iii.,  427.  Ait  Kani.   He  who  gives  a  woman 
in  marriage  into  another  tribe  pays  3  reals,     iii.,  422. 

Marriage  condemned  with  a  disreputable  woman  or  with  a 
woman  whose  relatives  engaged  in  degrading  occupations,  butch- 
ers, dancers,  etc.     ii.,  165. 

Aoukdal.  For  adultery  between  Kabyles,  50  reals  fine;  be- 
tween Kabyles  and  Marabouts,  100  reals,  ii.,  426.  Cheurfa,  etc. 
He  who  marries  a  woman  to  a  Kabyle  or  who  repudiates  his  wife 
to  marry  her  to  a  Kabyle,  fined  20  reals,  iii.,  328.  Custom  op- 
poses marriage  of  a  Kabyle  to  a  professing  Jew  or  Christian,  ii.,164. 
Ancient  Arabs: 

Ye  are  not  able,  it  may  be,  to  act  equitably  to  your  wives, 
even  though  ye  covet  it;  do  not,  however,  be  quite  partial,  and 
leave  one,  as  it  were,  in  suspense,     iv.,  129. 

And  do  not  marry  women  your  fathers  married, — except 
bygones, — for  it  is  abominable  and  hateful,  and  an  evil  way;  un- 
lawful for  you  are  your  mothers,  and  your  daughters,  and 
your  sisters,  and  your  paternal  aunts,  and  your  maternal 
aunts,  and  your  brother's  daughters,  and  your  sister's  daugh- 
ers,  ■  and  your  foster  mothers,  and  your  foster  sisters,  and 
your  wives'  mothers,  and  your  step-daughters,  who  are  your 
wards,  born  of  your  wives  to  whom  ye  have  gone  in;  but  if  ye 
have  not  gone  in  unto  them,  then  it  is  no  crime  in  you  ;  and  the 
lawful  spouses  of  your  sons  from  your  own  loins,  and  that  ye 
form  a  connection  between  two  sisters, — except  bygones, — verily, 
God  is  forgiving  and  merciful,     iv.,  26-28. 

Wed  not  with  idolatrous  women  until  they  believe,  for  surely  a 
believing  handmaid  is  better  than  an  idolatrous  woman,  even 
though  she  please  you.  And  wed  not  to  idolatrous  men  until 
they  believe,  for  a  believing  slave  is  better  than  an  idolater,  even 
though  he  please  you.  ii.,  220.  When  there  come  believing 
women,  who  have  fled,  then  try  them  ;  God  knows  their  faith. 
If  ye  know  them  to  be  believers,  do  not  send  them  back  to  the 
misbelievers  ;  they  are  not  lawful  for  them,  nor  are  the  men 
lawful  for  these  ;  but  give  them  what  they  have  expended,  and 
it  shall  be  no  crime  against  you  that  ye  marry  them,  when  ye 
have  given  them  their  hire.  And  do  not  ye  retain  a  right  over 
misbelieving  women  ;  but  ask  for  what  ye  have  spent,  and  let 
them  ask  for  what  they  have  spent.  That  is  God's  judgment. 
Ix.,  lO-II. 


184  The  Family 

Ancient  Hebrews  : 

Miriam  and  Aaron  spake  against  Moses  because  of  the  Ethio- 
pian woman  whom  he  had  married.     Numb,  xii.,  i. 

Neither  shalt  thou  make  marriages  with  them  (the  Hittites, 
Canaanites,  etc.)  ;  thy  daughter  thou  shalt  not  give  unto  his  son, 
nor  his  daughter  shalt  thou  take  unto  thy  son.  For  they  will 
turn  away  thy  son  from  following  me  ;  that  they  may  serve  other 
gods.  Deut.  vii.,  3-4.  When  Samson  asked  for  a  daughter  of 
the  Philistines  to  wife,  his  father  and  his  mother  said  unto  him, 
Is  there  never  a  woman  among  the  daughters  of  thy  brethren,  or 
among  all  my  people,  that  thou  goest  to  take  a  wife  of  the 
uncircumcised  Philistines  ?  Judges  xiv.,  3.  But  King  Solomon 
loved  many  strange  women,  together  with  the  daughter  of 
Pharaoh,  women  of  the  Moabites,  Ammonites,  Edomites, 
Zidonians,  and  Hittites  ;  of  the  nations  concerning  which  the 
Lord  said  unto  the  children  of  Israel,  Ye  shall  not  go  in  to  them, 
neither  shall  they  come  in  unto  you  ;  for  surely  they  will  turn 
away  your  heart  after  their  gods,  i  Kings  xi.,  1-3.  Judah  hath 
dealt  treacherously  and  an  abomination  is  committed  in  Israel 
and  in  Jerusalem,  for  Judah  hath  profaned  the  holiness  of  the 
Lord  and  hath  married  the  daughter  of  a  strange  god.  Mai.  ii.,  11, 

Abraham  charged  his  servant  to  go  unto  his  kindred  and  take 
a  wife  unto  his  son  Isaac.  Gen.  xxiv.  Esau,  when  he  was  forty 
years  old,  took  to  wife  two  Hittite  women  who  were  a  grief  of 
mind  unto  Isaac  and  Rebekah.  lb.  xxvi.,  34-35.  Esau  saw 
that  the  daughters  of  Canaan  pleased  not  Isaac.  Therefore  he 
took  to  wife  Mahalath  the  daughter  of  Ishmael,  son  of  Abraham. 
lb.  xxviii.,  8-9.  Isaac  sent  Jacob  to  take  a  wife  of  the  daughters 
of  Laban,  his  mother's  brother.  Jb.  xxviii.,  1-2.  Jochebed, 
mother  to  Aaron  and  Moses,  married  her  brother's  son.  Ex.  vi., 
20,  Tamar,  the  half-sister  of  Amnon  by  the  same  father.  King 
David,  besought  Amnon  when  he  was  attempting  to  force  her, 
saying,  I  pray  thee,  speak  unto  the  king  ;  for  he  will  not  with- 
hold me  from  thee.  2  Sam.  xiii.,  13.  Marriage  forbidden 
between  half-brothers  and  sisters,  with  paternal  or  maternal  aunt, 
with  the  wife  of  a  paternal  uncle,  of  a  brother,  with  a  step- 
daughter, or  step-granddaughter,  with  a  sister-in-law,  in  her 
sister's  lifetime.  Lev.  xviii.,  6-18.  In  fornication  with  a  step- 
mother, daughter-in-law,  both  shall  be  put  to  death.     If  a  man 


Sexual  Choice  185 

take  a  wife  and  her  mother,  .  .  .  they  shall  be  burnt  with  fire, 
both  he  and  they.  For  fornication  with  a  half-sister,  both  shall 
be  cut  off  in  the  sight  of  their  people.  For  fornication  with  an 
uncle's  wife  or  a  brother's  wife,  they  shall  be  childless.  lb.  xx., 
11-21.  Saul's  son  upbraided  Abner,  the  captain  of  the  hosts,  for 
having  gone  in  unto  his  deceased  father's  concubine.  2  Sam  iii., 
7.  David  took  his  ten  concubines,  who  had  been  violated  by 
his  son  Absalom,  and  put  them  in  ward  and  fed  them,  but  went 
not  unto  them.  So  they  were  shut  up  unto  the  day  of  their 
death,  living  in  widowhood.     2  Sam.  xx.,  3  ;  xvi.,  21-22, 

Every  daughter  that  possesseth  an  inheritance  in  any  tribe  of 
the  children  of  Israel  shall  be  wife  unto  one  of  the  family  of  the 
tribe  of  his  father,  that  the  children  of  Israel  may  enjoy  every 
man  the  inheritance  of  his  fathers.  Neither  shall  the  inheritance 
remove  from  one  tribe  to  another  tribe.  The  daughters  of 
Zeloph  had  therefore  married  their  father's  brother's  sons. 
Numb,  xxxvi. 

Priests  are  forbidden  to  take  a  wife  that  is  a  whore,  or  pro- 
fane ;  neither  shall  they  take  a  woman  put  away  from  her  hus- 
band. Lev.  xxi.,  7.  The  high  priest  was  to  marry  only  a  virgin 
of  his  own  people.     lb.  xxi.,  13-14. 

Babylonians  : 

If  a  man  have  known  his  daughter,  they  shall  expel  him  from 
the  city.  §  154.  If  a  man  lie  in  the  bosom  of  his  mother  after 
(the  death  of)  his  father,  they  shall  burn  both  of  them.     §  157. 

If  a  man,  after  (the  death  of)  his  father,  be  taken  in  the  bosom  of 
the  chief  wife  (of  his  father)  who  has  borne  children,  he  shall  be 
cut  off  from  his  father's  house.  §  158.  If  a  man  have  betrothed 
a  bride  to  his  son  and  his  son  have  known  her,  and  if  he  (the 
father)  afterward  lie  in  her  bosom  and  they  take  him,  they  shall 
bind  that  man  and  throw  him  into  the  water.  §  155.  If  his 
son  have  not  known  her,  but  he  himself  lie  in  her  bosom, 
he  shall  pay  her  one-half  mana  of  silver  and  he  shall  make  good 
to  her  whatever  she  brought  from  the  house  of  her  father  and  the 
man  of  her  choice  may  take  her.     §  156. 

Ancient  Hindus  : 

A  twice-born  man  should  carefully  avoid  marrying  into  a 
family  in  which  no  male  children  are  born,  one  the  members  of 


1 86  The  Family 

which  have  thick  hair  on  the  body,  are  subject  to  hemorrhoids, 
phthisis,  weakness  of  digestion,  epilepsy,  white  or  black  leprosy. 
He  should  not  marry  a  maiden  with  reddish  hair  or  a  redundant 
member,  with  no  hair  on  the  body  or  too  much,  with  red  eyes, 
one  who  is  quarrelsome  or  sickly.  She  should  have  an  auspicious 
name,  be  free  from  bodily  defects,  have  a  graceful  gait,  a 
moderate  quantity  of  hair  on  head  and  body,  small  teeth,  and  soft 
limbs,  iii.,  7-10  ;  also  ii.,  33.  To  a  distinguished,  handsome 
suitor,  of  equal  caste,  should  a  father  give  his  daughter  .  .  .  , 
though  she  have  not  attained  the  proper  age.  But  the  maiden, 
though  marriageable,  should  rather  stop  in  the  father's  house 
until  death,  than  that  he  should  give  her  to  a  man  destitute  of 
good  qualities,     ix.,  88-89. 

A  damsel  who  is  neither  a  Sapinda  (the  Sapinda  relationship 
ceases  with  the  seventh  person  in  the  ascending  and  descending 
lines)  on  the  mother's  side,  nor  belongs  to  the  same  family, 
i.  e.,  is  not  a  Samanodaka  (this  relationship  ceases  when  the 
common  origin  and  the  existence  of  a  common  family  name  are 
no  longer  known)  on  the  father's  side,  is  recommended  in 
marriage  to  twice-born  men.  iii.,  5  ;  also  v.,  60.  Giving  a 
daughter  to  a  brother  is  a  minor  offence,  causing  loss  of  caste, 
xi.,  61,  67. 

If  a  brother,  even  if  duly  authorised,  have  intercourse  with  a 
sister-in-law,  except  in  time  of  misfortune,  or  a  ather  with  a 
daughter-in-law,  they  become  outcasts,  ix,  57-58,  6^.  Inter- 
course with  sisters  by  the  same  mother,  or  with  daughters-in-law, 
is  a  mortal  sin.     xi.,  59. 

For  the  first  marriage  of  twice-born  men,  wives  of  equal  caste 
are  recommended  ;  but  for  those  who  through  desire  proceed  to 
marry  again,  the  following  rule  holds  :  A  Sddra  woman  alone 
can  be  the  wife  of  a  S(idra,  she  and  one  of  his  own  caste,  the  wives 
of  a  Vaisya,  those  two  and  one  of  his  own  caste,  the  wives  of  a 
Kshatriya,  those  three  and  one  of  his  own  caste,  the  wives  of  a 
Brahmana,  The  marriage  of  a  Brahmana  to  a  Sfldra  wife  an 
inexpiable  offence.  After  death  he  will  sink  into  hell.  If  he 
beget  a  son  by  her,  he  loses  the  rank  of  a  Brahmana.  iii.,  12-19. 
Libations  of  water  shall  not  be  offered  to  those  born  of  an  illegal 
mixture  of  the  castes,  v.,  89.  If  a  maiden  court  a  man  of  low 
caste,  let  her  father  force  her  to  live  confined  in  her  house.     A 


Sexual  Choice  187 

man  of  low  caste  making  love  to  a  maiden  of  the  highest  caste 
shall  suffer  corporal  punishment,  viii.,  ;^6^-^66.  If  a  S(idra 
have  intercourse  with  a  twice-born  unguarded  woman,  he  is  to 
be  castrated  and  lose  all  his  property  ;  if  guarded,  he  is  to  suffer 
death.  If  a  Vaisya,  or  Kshatriya,  with  a  guarded  Kshatriya 
woman,  or  a  Kshatriya  with  a  guarded  Vaisya  woman,  the  Vaisya 
shall  be  fined  500  panas  and  the  Kshatriya,  1000.  If  they 
offend  with  a  guarded  Brahmani,  who  is  also  the  wife  of  an 
eminent  man,  they  shall  be  punished  like  a  Slidra  or  be  burned 
in  a  fire  of  dry  grass.  For  intercourse  with  a  guarded  Sddra 
woman  they  shall  be  fined  1000  panas ;  with  an  unguarded 
Kshatriya,  a  fine  of  500  panas  for  a  Vaisya.  For  intercourse 
with  guarded  Vaisya  and  Kshatriya  women  a  Brahmana  shall  be 
fined  1000  panas  ;  with  unguarded  or  with  a  S(idra,  500  ;  with  a 
woman  of  the  lowest  castes,  1000.     viii,  374-385. 

A  twice-born  man  should  not  marry  into  a  family,  be  it  ever  so 
wealthy,  who  neglects  the  sacred  rites  or  the  study  of  the  Veda, 
iii.,  6-7.  No  Brahmana  is  to  form  a  connection  through  marriage 
with  one  who  has  not  been  initiated,     ii.,  40. 

A  man  aged  30  shall  marry  a  maiden  of  12  who  pleases  him,  or 
a  man  of  24  a  girl  of  8;  if  the  performance  of  his  duties  would 
otherwise  be  impeded,  he  must  marry  sooner,  ix.,  94.  Allowing 
one's  younger  brother  to  marry  first,  marrying  before  one's  elder 
brother,  are  minor  offences,  causing  loss  of  caste,  xi.,  61,  67. 
The  elder  brother  who  marries  after  the  younger,  the  younger 
brother  who  marries  before  the  elder,  the  female  with  whom  such 
a  marriage  is  contracted,  he  who  gives  her  away,  and  the 
sacrificing  priest     .     .     .     all  sink  into  hell,     iii.,  172. 

Ancient  Chinese  : 

One  must  not  marry  a  wife  of  the  same  surname  with  oneself 
Hence,  in  buying  a  concubine,  if  he  do  not  know  her  surname, 
he  must  consult  the  tortoise-shell  about  it.  xxvii.,  78.  Even 
after  a  hundred  generations  there  may  be  no  marriage 
between  those  of  the  same  surname.  xxviii.,  63,  None 
of  the  concubines  in  a  house  should  be  employed  to  wash  the 
lower  garments  of  a  son.  xxvii.,  77.  When  a  married  aunt  or 
sister  or  daughter  returns  home  on  a  visit,  no  brother  of  the 
family  should  sit  with  her  on  the  same  mat  or  eat  with  her  from 
the  same  dish.     Even  the  father  and  daughter  should  not  occupy 


1 88  The  Family 

the  same  mat.  Ibid.  If  a  son  have  two  concubines,  one  of 
whom  is  loved  by  his  parents,  vi^hile  he  himself  loves  the  other, 
yet  he  should  not  dare  to  make  this  one  equal  to  the  former 
whom  his  parents  love,  in  dress,  or  food,  or  the  duties  which  she 
discharges,  nor  should  he  lessen  his  attentions  to  her  after  their 
death.  If  he  very  much  approves  of  his  wife,  and  his  parents  do 
not  like  her,  he  should  divorce  her.  If  he  do  not  approve  of  his 
wife,  and  his  parents  say,  "She  serves  us  well,"  he  should  behave 
to  her  in  all  respects  as  his  wife,  without  fail,  even  to  the  end  of 
her  life.  Confucius  said:  "The  elder  son,  even  though  70, 
should  never  be  without  a  wife  to  take  her  part  in  presiding  at 
the  funeral  rites."  xxvii.,  316.  An  elder  brother's  wife  and  his 
younger  brother  do  not  wear  mourning  for  each  other;  the 
object  being  to  maintain  the  distance  between  them,    xxvii.,  147. 

Ancient  Romans: 

The  right  of  intermarriage  between  Roman  citizens  and 
Latins  or  aliens  does  not  in  all  cases  exist.  J.  i.,  ^.  ,§  13. 
Marriage  forbidden  within  third  degree.  If  marriage  with 
the  daughter  of  any  person  forbidden,  marriage  with  grand- 
daughter is  likewise.  J.  i.,  x.,  §§  2,  3.  A  man  may  marry  his 
brother's  daughter,  but  not  a  sister's  daughter.  G.  i.,  62.  A  man 
may  not  marry  his  brother's  daughter.  /.  i.,  x.,  §  3.  Of  course,  a 
brother  and  sister  are  forbidden  to  marry,  whether  they  are  the 
children  of  the  same  father  and  mother  or  of  one  of  the  two 
only.  G.  i.,  §  6  and  J.  i.,  x.,  §  2.  First  cousins  may  marry. 
J.  i.,  X.,  §  3.  Marriage  with  a  step-daughter,  a  daughter- 
in-law,  a  step-mother,  a  mother-in-law,  forbidden.  G.  i.,  §  63. 
J.  i.,  X.,  §§  6-9.  The  relationship  between  slaves  forms  an 
impediment  to  marriage  if  father  and  daughter  or  brother  and 
sister  have  been  manumitted.  Ibid.,  §  10.  Marriages  between 
adoptive  ascendants  and  descendants,  and  between  unemanci- 
pated  adoptive  brother  and  sister,  or  with  adoptive  maternal  or 
paternal  aunts,  forbidden.  /^/V/.,  §§  1-3.  No  right  of  intermar- 
riage between  patricians  and  plebeians.  Table  xi.  Between  free 
men  or  women  and  slaves.  J.  i.,  x.,  §  13. 
French: 

161.  Marriage  prohibited  between  all  legitimate  or  natural 
ascendants  and  descendants  and  relatives  by  marriage  in 
direct  line.     162.     Between  legitimate  or  natural  brothers  and 


Sexual  Choice  189 

sisters  and  relatives  by  marriage  in  same  degree.  163.  Be- 
tween uncle  and  niece,  aunt  and  nephew.  164.  Nevertheless 
the  king  (the  President  of  the  Republic)  may,  for  serious  reasons, 
remove  the  prohibitions  to  marriages  between  brothers-in-law 
and  sisters-in-law,  and  between  uncle  and  niece,  aunt  and 
nephew. 

348.  The  adopted  shall  remain  in  his  real  family  and  shall  re- 
tain all  his  rights:  nevertheless,  marriage  is  prohibited  :  between 
adopter,  adopted  and  his  descendants  ;  the  adopted  children 
of  the  same  person,  the  adopted  and  the  children  who  may  be 
born  to  the  adopter;  the  adopted  and  the  husband  or  wife  of  the 
adopter,  and  reciprocally  between  the  adopter  and  the  husband 
or  wife  of  the  adopted. 
People  of  the  United  States: 

Marriage  between  negroes  or  Indians  or  Chinese  and  whites 
forbidden  in  several  States.     §  17,  N.  2. 

Marriage  wiihin  third  degree  of  civil  reckoning  prohibited. 
Illegitimate  and  half-blood  kindred  included.  In  some  States 
first-cousin  marriage  also  prohibited.  Incestuous  marriages  void 
and  offenders  liable  to  imprisonment  if  aware  of  relationship. 
Some  marriages  of  affinity  prohibited  by  a  local  statute,  and  yet 
not  void.     §  16,  N.  2. 


LECTURE  IX 

BETROTHAL  AND  MARRIAGE  CEREMONIAL  AND  RELATIONS 

BETWEEN   HUSBAND  AND  WIFE  EXCLUSIVE 

OF  ECONOMIC  RELATIONS 

WE  have  already  referred  to  betrothal  and  mar- 
riage ceremonial  in  discussing  parental  owner- 
ship and  sexual  choice.     At  present  let  us  consider  in 
greater  detail  the  various    methods  in  mate-getting 
with  their  significance  for  conjugal  relations. 
Marriage  by  Forms  of  marHaore  by  capture  have  been  classified 

capture  ,    .    ,  ^  .    , 

as  forms  which  are  essential  to  the  marriage  and 
forms  which  are  merely  symbolical.  The  former 
class  may  be  redivided  into  cases  (i)  where  the 
owner  or  guardian  of  the  woman  is  not  con- 
sidered, (2)  where  the  former  is  compensated  after 
the  abduction,  (3)  where  abduction  is  a  legal  require- 
ment although  it  is  preceded  by  the  consent  of  owner 
or  cTuardian. 

The  capture  may  be  either  with  or  without  the 
consent  or  connivance  of  the  captured  woman.  This 
is  an  important  distinction,  although  in  discussions  of 
the  subject  it  is  often  overlooked.  In  the  one  case  we 
have  as  a  rule  an  exogamous  occurrence,  so  to  speak, 
conjugal  captor  and  captive  belonging  to  different 
hostile  groups,  and  in  the  other  case  an  endogamous 
occurrence,  groom  and  bride  belonging  to  the  same 
group.      It  is  perhaps   rather  difficult  to  distinguish 

190 


Betrothal  and  Marriage  Ceremonial       191 

the  latter  type  of  capture  from  certain  forms  of  more 
or  less  group-sanctioned  elopement.  The  distinction 
has  an  obvious  bearing  upon  parental  control  and 
upon  the  time  relations  of  marriage  by  capture  to 
marriage  by  purchase.^ 

Details  of  marriage  by  barter,  service,  or  purchase  Marriage  by 

-If  free  consent 

were  given  m  Lecture  IV.;  so  that  marriage  by  tree 
consent  alone  remains  to  be  considered.  This  ar- 
rangement occurs  in  all  cultural  stages  except  in 
those  patriarchal  societies  where  marriage  by  pur- 
chase is  rigidly  developed.  In  marriage  by  free 
consent  the  marriage  gift  or  gifts  are  made  to  the 
bride  herself.  As  we  have  seen  in  considering  bride- 
price,  dower,  and  dowry,  a  transition  often  occurs 
from  marriage  by  purchase  to  marriage  by  free  con- 
sent, or  rather  in  such  cases  by  free  contract,  for  in 
this  transition  the  contractual  element  in  marriage  by 
purchase  is  retained,  the  contract  only  being  made 
directly  with  the  bride. 

As   ceremonial    in  general   is  the  home  of  social  sodai/osstuot 
fossils  or  survivals,  so  in  betrothal  and  marriage  rites  cerlmonJ" 
many  survivals  of  outgrown  conjugal  relations  occur. 
Similarly  incorporated   in    this   ceremonial    may   be 
found   relics    of   disused    methods   of   mate-getting. 
Rape   symbols,  for    example    (sham   running   away  Rape  and 

..         .  i'ii*i  1*  •  IT*  1  purchase  symbols 

With  the  bride,  bride-catching  or  racing,  hfting  her 
over  her  new  threshold,  tearing  her  clothes,  mock 
conflict  with,  or  siege  or  avoidance  of,  her  rela- 
tives, weeping  or  opposition  on  her  part,  etc.),  are 
commonly  explained  in  most    cases  as  survivals  of 

'  It  may  be  found  that  the  endogamous  form  of  marriage  by  capture  is  a 
transition  form  between  marriage  by  purchase  and  marriage  by  free  contract. 
The  exogamous  form,  on  the  other  hand,  may  exist  side  by  side  with  all  forms 
of  mate-getting. 


192  The  Family 

marriage  by  capture.  Of  interest  is  the  fact  that  with 
the  rape  symbol  there  is  often  a  considerable  degree 
of  freedom  of  choice  on  the  part  of  the  courted 
woman.  In  bride-racing,  for  example,  she  may  have 
the  privilege  of  not  submitting  to  capture  when  she 
Distinction  be-        dislikes  the  would-be  captor.     In  this  connection  the 

tween  ceremonial  , 

and  non-ceremonial  obscrver  IS  wamed  uot  to  confuse  the  rape  symbol 
expressions  with  the  conventionaliscd  expression  of  sexual  shy- 

ness or  opposition,  or  with  grief  at  home-leaving 
on  the  part  of  the  bride.  Wedding-gifts,  including 
forms  of  dower  or  dowry,  are  also  explained  as 
survivals  of  marriage  by  purchase.  Again  the  ob- 
server is  warned  not  to  confuse  the  gift  as  an  out- 
giuwn  bride-price  with  the  gift  as  a  favour-winning  of- 
fering, or  compact  of  alliance,  or  pledge  of  devotion  or 
of  good  conduct  or  of  ability  to  support  a  family.  In 
communities,  for  example,  which  are  so  economically 
developed  that  private  property  and  exchange  barely 
exist,  ingratiatory  gifts,  or  pledge-gifts,  can  of  course 
not  be  interpreted  as  bride-price  fossils.  Such  wooing- 
gifts  are  rather  the  incipient  forms  of  a  bride-price. 
Where,  on  the  other  hand,  marriage  by  purchase  is 
well  defined  in  the  lower  classes  of  a  society,  whereas 
only  marriage  gifts  are  found  in  the  upper  classes, 
the  latter  may  safely  be  taken  as  bride-price 
survivals. 
Betrothal  and  Mating  ceremonial  is  also  frequently  anticipative  of 

marriage  ceremo-  11.  i    •     1  1  •  i 

niai  anticipative  of  the  rclatious  which  are    expected  to    exist    between 

conjugal  relations        1  1  1  it  T"!         i.     •  j         r  1 

husband  and  wite.  1  he  bride,  tor  example,  may  pre- 
pare or  bring  food  or  drink  to  the  bridegroom,  or  she 
may  eat  or  drink  with  him.  (Ceremonial  eating 
together  is  not  always  anticipative  of  future  practices, 
for  a  taboo  of  commensality  may  follow  the  marriage 


Betrothal  and  Marriage  Ceremonial      193 

rites.)  The  bride  may  also  prepare  garments  for  the 
groom  or  his  relatives.  The  groom  may  be  given  a 
whip,  etc.,  by  the  bride's  father,  in  token  that  she  is 
passing  from  the  subjection  of  father  to  that  of  hus- 
band. The  wrists,  fingers,  ankles,  or  clothes  of  bride 
and  groom  may  be  bound  together  in  sign  of  union. 
Rings,  girdles,  etc.,  may  be  exchanged.  Many  other 
union  symbols,  whether  or  not  expressive  of  the  break- 
ing of  sexual  taboo,  as  has  been  alleged,  are  wide- 
spread. Cutting  the  hair  of  the  bride,  casting  aside 
her  ornaments,  trinkets,  etc.,  often  enter  into  marriage 
ceremonial,  in  token,  it  is  supposed,  of  wifely  con- 
stancy and  single-heartedness.  Ceremonial  indicative 
of  the  adoption  of  the  bride  by  the  groom's  family  is 
not  uncommon  under  patriarchal  organisation.  Dif- 
ferences in  social  rank  are  often  expressed  in  marriage 
ceremonial,  the  ceremonial  of  one  class  being  different 
from  that  of  another,  or,  as  we  have  seen,  gradations 
of  rank  among  the  wives  are  also  shown  in  differences 
in  marriage  ceremonial.  Marriage  ceremonial  in  case 
of  a  widow  or  a  divorced  woman  may  also  differ  from 
that  in  use  in  the  marriage  of  a  virgin.  Indian  pat- 
marriage  is  a  marked  instance.  The  ceremony  takes 
place  at  night  and  is  much  curtailed. 

There  are  few  known  cases  in  which  marriao^e  is  Pubnc  and  reiig 
entered  into  with  so  little  form  or  ceremonial  that  the 
coming  together  of  relatives  or  group  members  does 
not  celebrate  the  occasion.  A  marriage  feast  is  gen- 
erally customary,  and  festivities  may  be  prolonged  for 
several  days,  or  even  months.  The  requiring  of  formal 
witnesses  by  the  group  and  of  a  more  or  less  public 
announcement  or  contract  is  of  great  interest  as  ex- 
pressing  and  defining   the   group's    conception   and 


_10US 

celebration  of 
marriage 


194 


The  Family 


Effects  of  methods 
of  mate-getting  on 
position  of  wife 


Points  contracted 
for  in  marriage  by 
purchase 


sanction  of  marriage  as  a  social  act.  The  religious 
celebration  and  sanction  of  marriage  has  a  like 
interest 

Marriage  by  purchase  makes  for  a  more  favourable 
position  for  the  wife  than  marriage  by  capture.  It  also 
makes  separation  from  her  husband  much  more  difficult 
for  her.  A  bride-price  brings  with  it  a  full  realisation 
of  the  economic  value  of  the  bride.  She  is  looked 
after  as  a  more  or  less  valuable  chattel.  Marriages  by 
purchase,  including  marriage  by  barter  or  service,  may 
also  be  in  the  nature  of  a  contract  with  the  woman's 
first  owner,  her  parents  or  male  kinsfolk.  If  the 
agreement  be  broken,  for  example,  either  by  the 
groom  or  the  bride's  family  before  the  consummation 
of  the  marriage,  the  bride-price  or  marriage  gifts  or 
settlements  may  have  to  be  returned,  and  sometimes 
a  fine  or  indemnity  has  to  be  paid  in  addition.  Again, 
if  the  woman  die  before  marriage,  sometimes  before 
she  has  borne  a  child,  her  relatives  may  be  bound  to 
substitute  another  woman,  commonly  a  sister,  in  her 
place,  or,  in  either  case,  they  may  be  bound  to  return 
the  bride-price  in  whole  or  in  part.  If  the  wife  leave 
her  husband,  or  commit  adultery,  her  family  may  be 
called  upon  to  return  her  or  the  bride-price  or  some 
other  form  of  indemnification  to  him.  They  may  also 
be  called  upon  to  punish  her  for  adultery.  (Let  us 
note  in  this  connection  that  marriage  by  purchase  has 
probably  been  influential  in  promoting  the  observance 
of  female  chastity  before  marriage  and  of  wifely 
fidelity  in  marriage.)  On  the  other  hand,  the  bride's 
family  frequently  more  or  less  tacitly  stipulate  for  her 
protection  and  support.  In  case  of  neglect  or  mal- 
treatment, she  is  entitled  to  return  to  her  own  family, 


Betrothal  and  Marriao^e  Ceremonial      195 


residence  after 
marriage 


and  her  family  may  even,  in  some  groups,  under  such 
circumstances,  retain  the  bride-price.  If  the  bride- 
price  is  paid  in  installments,  her  family  commonly 
retains  special  rights  over  her  until  the  sum  is  paid 
up.  Part  of  the  bride-price  may  even  remain  inten- 
tionally unpaid,  so  that  her  family  may  retain  a  partial 
right  in  her.  If  she  die,  either  at  the  hands  of  her 
husband  or  not,  he  may  have  to  indemnify  her  family. 
Again,  her  family,  instead  of  her  husband,  may  exact 
compensation  for  injuries  received  by  her. 

The  place  of  residence  after  marriage  has  also  much  influence  of  place  of 
weight  in  determining  conjugal  relations.  As  in 
the  ba  'al  and  mot  'a  marriages  of  the  ancient  Arabs, 
it  may  even  enter  into  the  form  of  marriage.  Where 
a  separate  household  is  not  established,  the  husband 
may  live  in  the  wife's  group,  the  wife  in  the  husband's, 
or  both  husband  and  wife  may  continue  to  live  in  his 
or  her  own  group.  (In  this  last  case  the  intercourse 
of  husband  and  wife  may  be  required  to  be  ceremoni- 
ally clandestine  for  varying  periods.)  If  the  husband 
live  with  the  wife's  family,  she  is  naturally  more  inde- 
pendent of  him  than  if  she  go  with  him  to  his  family. 
In  the  latter  case,  she  is  frequently  adopted  into  his 
kin,  thus  cutting  off  still  further  her  claim  upon  the 
group  in  which  she  was  born.  When  she  is  adopted 
in  this  way,  her  husband's  rank,  goods,  and  in  some 
cases  name,  become  hers.  She  is  identified  with  him. 
Similarly  a  husband  living  in  his  wife's  group  may 
be  adopted  into  it.  The  nearness  or  remoteness 
of  the  home  group  of  either  bride  or  groom  is  also  of 
weiofht  in  this  connection. 

In  the  same  g^roup  different  practices  in  regfard  to  D»ffe«"ent residence 

o  -T  i:  J3  and  mate-gettmg 

residence,  as  well  as  methods  of  mate-getting,   mav  practices  in  same 

''     group 


19^  The  Family 

exist.  Frequently  important  families  retain  their 
married  daughters  with  their  husbands  and  children, 
although  the  general  practice  of  the  group  is  for  the 
wife  to  follow  her  husband.  Again,  if  the  groom  is 
unable  to  pay  the  bride -price,  he  may  live  with 
his  wife  permanently  or  temporarily,  until  the  sum 
is  served  out,  etc.,  in  her  family.  Even  where 
marriage  by  service  is  well  defined,  there  may  be  a 
tendency  for  the  older  and  stronger  men  to  rebel 
against  it.  Ceremonial  marriage  or  betrothal  visits 
are  of  interest  in  this  connection,  as  they  may  rep- 
resent transitions  in  residence  customs. 
Wifely  In  spite  of  some  of  these  restrictions  upon  marital 

su  servience  power,    the  wife's   relation   to   her  husband   is  com- 

Maritai punishment  uiouly  one  of  subservieuce.  In  most  societies  he  may 
punish  her  by  death,  mutilation,  blows,  imprisonment, 
etc.,  for  infidelity,  disobedience,  or  laziness.  Casting 
her  off  either  by  sending  her  back  to  her  family  or  by 
selling  her  to  another  man  is  also  a  common  form  of 
punishment.  In  most  communities  the  divorced  wife 
occupies  an  inferior  social  position.  It  is  more  or  less 
difficult  to  remarry.  Permission  to  remarry  may  even 
rest,  as  we  have  seen,  with  the  husband  who  divorces 
her.  Disowned  by  her  own  family  as  well,  she 
may,  where  a  prostitute  class  exists,  be  forced  into 
it. 
Inequality  of  sub-  Jq  coucubiuage,  the  licad-wife  is  not  as  subservient 

servience  of  wives  111  1  i  •      r       •  i    •  1    •  1 

in  same  family         to  hcr  husbaud  as  the  mierior  concubmes,  and  m  the 
or  community  game  society,  whether  ethnic  or  civil,  wives   of  high 

rank  or  of  higher  economic  or  cultural  classes  may 
not  be  as  subservient  as  those  of  low  rank  or  of  lower 
economic  or  cultural  classes.  In  the  following  lecture 
on  the  economic  relations  of   married  persons,   we 


Betrothal  and  Marriage  Ceremonial      197 

shall    consider   the    economic    subordination    among 
wives  in  polygyny. 

With  all  de2:rees  of  marital  power  or  ownership  it  Ma^tai  respon- 

1  .   ,       .  1  sibilities 

IS  more  or  less  tacitly  incumbent  upon  a  husband  to 
protect  and  provide  for  his  wife.  Moreover  mutual 
conjugal  sympathy  and  affection  exist  to  a  greater 
or  less  extent  in  almost  all  societies.  Not  uncom- 
monly the  wife  is  consulted  and  advised  with  by  her 
husband  and  she  may  have  considerable  influence 
with  him.  Various  practices  and  beliefs  are  also 
indicative  of  conjugal  sympathy.  Circumcision  may  Practices  indicatiTc 
be  practised  because  of  the  belief  that  harm  may  anraffectlor^^  '' 
befall  the  uncircumcised  man's  wife.  Couvade  prac- 
tices and  the  custom  of  conjugal  abstinence  during 
pregnancy  and  lactation  are  frequently  followed  for 
the  good  of  the  mother  as  well  as  for  that  of  off- 
spring. In  case  of  difficult  labour,  a  great  variety  of 
practices  are  observed  by  the  husband.  A  husband 
may  not  cut  his  hair  lest  harm  befall  his  wife.  Simi- 
larly when  a  man  is  hunting  or  fighting,  certain 
sympathetic  practices  must  be  observed  by  his  wife  to 
insure  his  success  or  avert  disaster. 

There  is  probably  no  non-economic  condition  which  The  effect  of 

t  y         rr        .  i  ..  r      ^  •  r  ancestor-worship 

has  as  much  eilect  upon  the  position  of  the  wife  as  upon  the  position 
ancestor-worship.  Under  ancestor-worship,  her  func- 
tion of  maternity  is  plainly  differentiated  from  purely 
economic  functions.  As  the  mother  of  sons  who 
alone  can  continue  the  family  worship,  she  is  an 
important  person.  This  fact  is  frequently  expressed 
in  the  part  assigned  her  in  the  celebration  of  the 
religious  rites.  It  should  be  noted,  however,  that  it 
is  only  the  head-wife  who  profits,  directly  at  least, 
from  exercising  these  functions.     It  should  also  be 


of  head-wife 


198 


The  Family 


Customs  of  sexual 
differentiation  an- 
tagonistic to  con- 
jugal sympathy 


noted  that  marked  forms  of  marriage  by  purchase, 
disadvantageous  to  women,  are  usually  found  among 
ancestor-worshipping  peoples. 

As  Professor  Westermarck  has  well  pointed  out,* 
ethnographers  are  very  remiss  in  observing  conjugal 
relations.  Their  statements  are  frequently  contradic- 
tory in  regard  to  the  subjection  of  wives  and  the 
consideration  in  which  wives  are  held.  In  many  cases 
no  doubt  this  contradiction  exists  in  the  group  itself, 
and  the  only  fault  of  the  observer  is  in  failing  to 
make  this  clear." 

We  should  note,  on  the  other  hand,  many  general 
customs  which,  making  for  sexual  differentiation  in 
general,  tend  to  separate  the  interests  and  check  the 
sympathies  of  husband  and  wife.  Cases  in  point  are 
the  existence  of  separate  educational,  political,  juridi- 
cal, religious  ^  and  moral  systems  for  men  and  women, 
the  hard  and  fast  differentiation  of  almost  all  eco- 
nomic activities  along  sex  lines,  the  differentiation  of 
games  and  amusements,  of  dress,  of  language  ■*  and 
literature  according  to  sex,  sexual  segregation  in 
general,  and  in  particular  sexual  taboos  resulting  from 
the  idea  of  dangerous  influences  emanating  from  one 
sex  to  another,  notably  taboos  of  commensality,  and 
of  associating  with  women  at  times  of  nubility,  men- 

'  See  p.  230. 

'  See  pp.  203,  204.  Here  again  a  woman  student  would  have  many  opportunities 
for  observing  the  life  of  women  and  children  that  male  ethnographers  have  lacked. 

•*  See  p.  200  for  reference  to  sex  totems  for  a  striking  religious  or  perhaps, 
according  to  recent  theory,  economic  diflerentiation. 

*  Husband  and  wife  may  never  speak  the  same  language.  This  sometimes 
happens  in  clan  exogamy  or  in  marriage  by  capture.  Let  us  note  incidentally 
that  the  probability  of  there  being  more  marked  differences  between  husband 
and  wife  in  marriage  by  capture  than  in  other  forms  of  mate-getting  is  an- 
other reason  for  tiie  unfavorable  influence  of  the  former  upon  the  position  of 
the  wife. 


Betrothal  and  Marriage  Ceremonial      199 

struatlon,  pregnancy,  and  child-birth,  or  at  times  of 
male  crises,  i.e.,  initiation,  during  betrothal,  or  on  the 
eve  of  hunting  or  fighting  expeditions  or  religious 
celebrations. 

NOTE   A 

Methods  of  Mate-Getting. 

Post,  Grundriss,  i.,  286-320. 

Wilutzky,  Vorgeschichte  des  Rechts,  i.,  141-160.  (Marriage 
by  capture)  lb.,  i.,    163-185  (Marriage  by  purchase). 

Hellwald,  Die  menschliche  Familie,  chap,  xviii.  (Marriage 
by  purchase). 

Marriage  by  Free  Contract  in  England. 

Howard,  A  History  0/  Matrimonial  Institutions,  i.,  chap.  vi. 
Marriage  Ceremonial. 

Westermarck,  The  History  of  Human  Marriage,  pp. 
417-421. 

Crawley,    The  Mystic   Rose,  pp.  33-58,  163-178,   350-365, 

372-387- 

Rape  Symbol. 

McLennan,  Studies,  etc.,    chap.  ii.  and  App.  Note  A. 
Abercromby,  Marriage  Customs  of  the  Mordvins  in  Folk- 
lore, i. 

Public  Celebration  of  Marriage. 

Report  of  the  Royal  Commission  on  the  Laws  of  Marriage^ 
London,  1894. 

Marriage  by  Purchase  a  Factor  in  Female  Chastity. 
Hellwald,  Die  menschliche  Fafnilie,  chap.  xix. 

Protection  of  Married  Women  by  their  Families. 
Steinmetz,  Ethnologischen  Studien,  etc.,  ii.,  88-96. 

Marital  Authority  and  Subjection  of  Wife. 

lb.,  ii.,  254-305.  (Includes  discussion  of  child-betrothal, 
of  parental  or  familial  right  over  sexual  choice  in  general 
and  of  punishments  for  illegitimate  sexual  intercourse  ) 


200  The  Family 

Westermarck,    The  Origin    and  Developtneni  of  the  Moral 
Ideas,  London  and  New  York,  1906,  pp.  629-655. 
Kalevala,  Runes  xxii.,  xxiv. 
Laivs  of  Manu,  pp.  195-197,  327-336. 
Effect  of  Ancestor-Worship  upon  Wife's  Status. 

Hearn,  The   Aryan   Household,    London    and  Melbourne, 
1879,  pp.   86-91. 
Sex  Totems. 

Howitt,  Native  Tribes  of  South- East  Australia,  pp.  148-15 1. 
Sex  Taboos. 

Crawley,  The  Mystic  Rose,  pp.  214-217. 
Pahlavi  Texts  in  The  Sacred  Books  of  the  East,  v.,  276-285. 
Oxford,  1880.     (In  menstruation.) 
The  Harem. 

Hellwald,  Die  fnenschliche  Eamilie,  pp.  417-431. 

NOTE   B 
Extent  of  Marriage  by  Capture. 

An  universal    practice.      McLennan,   Studies,  etc.,  chap, 
iv.;  Studies,  etc.,  Sec.  Ser.,  chap.  vi. 

Capture  neither  an  exclusive  nor  an  actual  form  of  mar- 
riage. Cases  of  rape  should  not  be  confused  with  regular 
forms  of  marriage.  Letourneau,  The  Evolution  of  Marriage 
and  of  the  Faynily,    London,  1891,     pp.  89-94. 

Not  an  universal  practice  in  its  juridical  sense,/.!?.,  as  a  form 
of  marriage  in  distinction   to   possession  through   capture. 
Bernhoft,  Die  Principien  des  europdischen  Familienrechts  in 
Zt.f.   vergleichende  Rechtswissenschaft,  ix.,   392-394. 
The  Meaning  of  the  Rape  Symbol. 

A  survival  of  marriage  by  capture.  Lubbock,  The  Origin 
of  Civilisation,  p.  72. 

Originated  from  capture  within  the  group.  An  expression 
of  parental,  etc.,  opposition,  of  female  coyness.  Spencer, 
The  Principles  of  Sociology,  i.,  634-639. 

An  expression  of  the  sorrow  of  the  bride  on  leaving  her 
family.     Starcke,  The  Primitive  Family,  \)\).  218,  262. 

Symbolises    former    rape    practices,  likewise   the  subjec- 


Betrothal  and  Marriage  Ceremonial      201 

tion  of  the  wife.     Letourneau,  The  Evolution  of  Marriage, 

P-  95- 
Originated  in  the  desire  to  obtain  for  nothing  what  could 

otherwise  be  acquired  only  by  a  purchase  fee.     Wake,  The 
Primitive  Human  Family  in  J.  A.  /.,  ix.,  lo. 

Neither  marriage  by  capture  nor  marriage  by  purchase  is 
as  common  an  occurrence  as  is  usually  supposed,  for  so- 
called  rape  symbols  and  marriage  gifts  are  not  survivals  of 
such  practices.  They  are  expressions  of  sexual  shyness,  or 
opposition,  or  pledges  of  union,  exchanges  of  personality. 
Crawley,  The  Mystic  Rose,  pp.  367-370,  387-388. 

The  lifting  of  the  bride  over  the  threshold  is  not  a  rape 
symbol.      Crooke,    The  Lifting  of  the  Bride   in   FolklorCy 
xiii.,  22(i  ff. 
Order  of  Genesis  of  Methods  of  Mate-Getting. 

Marriage  by  purchase  developed  from  marriage  by  cap- 
ture. Lippert,  pp.  42,  95-118  ;  Kohler  in  Zt.f.vergleichende 
Rechtswissenschaft,  v.,  336,  vi.,  333  ff.  ;  Dargun,  Mutter- 
recht  und  Vaterrecht,  i.,  152-153  ;  Spencer,  The  Principles 
of  Sociology,  i.,  637. 

Marriage  by  capture  is  prior  to  marriage  by  purchase. 
The  offering  of  compensation  for  a  stolen  bride  to  escape  the 
vengeance  of  her  family  passed  into  the  custom  of  offering 
them  presents  beforehand.  Westermarck,  7'he  History  of 
Human  Marriage,  p.  401. 

This  theory  originated  with  Wilken  :  Over  de  Primitieve 
Vormen  van  het  Huwelijk  en  deni  Oor sprang  van  het  Gezin. 
De  Indische  Gids  (1880),  ii.,  660-661. 

The  practice  of  wife-purchase  has  an  important  place  in 
the  development  of  the  system  of  composition.  Compen- 
sation for  bride-stealing  may  in  many  cases  have  been  the 
source  of  composition  in  general.  Steinmetz,  Ethnologische 
Studien,  etc.,  i.,  422-427. 

Marriage  by  capture  is  an  outcome  rather  than  an  ante- 
cedent of  marriage  by  purchase.  Hildebrand,  Recht  und 
Sitte  auf  den  verschiedenen  Kulturstufen.  Jena,  1896,  first 
part,  pp.  7-10. 

Marriage  by  capture  is  a  comparatively  late  form  of  bride- 
getting.      The   rape    symbol    is   characteristic    of    warlike 


202  The  Family 

tribes  in  which  war-captured  wives  are  prestigeful  trophies. 
Grosse,  Die  Formen  der  Familie,  etc.,  pp.  105-108. 

NOTE  C 

Make  a  detailed  study  of  betrothal  customs  and  ceremonial. 
Make  a  comparative  study  (i)  of  marriage  by  capture,  showing 
when  it  is  endogamous  and  when  exogamous,  (2)  of  marriage  by 
purchase  (barter  or  service)  and  endogamy  and  exogamy,  (3)  of 
marriage  by  barter,  (4)  of  marriage  by  free  consent  or  free 
contract  in  relation  to  other  forms  of  mate-getting,  (5)  of 
marriage  by  free  contract,  noting  particularly  the  form  and 
content  of  the  contract,  (6)  of  alleged  rape  symbols,  (7)  of 
alleged  bride-price  fossils  (noting  the  economic  development  in 
generalof  the  group).  Give  a  history  of  prescribed  (i)  public  (and 
non-religious),  of  (2)  religious  celebration  of  marriage.  Make  a 
comparative  study  of  marriage  or  betrothal  visits  and  customs 
of  residence.  Study  the  differences  in  sexual  segregation  and 
consequent  effect  on  conjugal  relations  in  different  classes  in  a 
given  civilisation.  Study  the  exclusion  of  woman  from  magical 
or  religious  organisations,  noting  in  particular  the  secrecy  ob- 
served toward  uninitiated  males  and  females  of  all  ages. 

NOTE   D 
Veddahs : 

Marriage  ceremonial  differs  in  different  districts.  In  some,  no 
ceremonial  whatsoever.  In  others,  presents  brought  to  parents  of 
the  bride,  and  in  others,  again,  couple  make  for  each  other  and 
exchange  girdles,  p.  461. 

Slavish  subordination  of  wives  does  not  exist.  Treated  kindly 
and  in  some  cases  even  respectfully,   p.  468. 

Yahgan  : 

Bride  paints  her  face,  and  puts  on  necklaces  which  she  has 
been  presented  with.  Hair  on  her  forehead  is  cut.  H.  &  D., 
vii.,  378. 

Marriage  by  capture  is  sometimes  found,   x.,  334. 

Before  and  after  marriage  husbands  work  for  parents  of  wife 
until  she  bears  a  child.  They  are  then  exempt  ;  but  thereafter 
occasionally  make  presents  to  parents-in-law  of  fish,  grease,  dug- 


Betrothal  and  Marriage  Ceremonial     203 

outs,  harpoons,  and  always  bound  to  come  to  aid  of  father-in-law 
if  necessary,   vii.,  172. 

Young  husbands,  particularly  those  who  do  not  own  their  own 
dug-out,  live  for  a  long  time  with  parents  of  wife  to  whom  they 
tender  many  services  ;  but  this  does  not  happen  in  the  case  of 
older  men  or  of  men  who  are  noted  for  physical  strength  or  for 
their  influence  with  their  fellows.  The  new  household  becomes 
independent  when  the  husband  makes  for  himself  a  dug-out.  In 
exceptional  cases,  husband  lives  for  good  with  wife's  family.  H. 
&  D.,  vii.,  378.  Son-in-law  and  daughter-in-law  treat  parents- 
in-law  with  great  respect,  vii.,  172. 

Neither  father  nor  brother  interfere  in  a  daughter's  or  sister's 
behalf  against  her  husband,  unless  she  is  seriously  maltreated. 
Then  they  carry  her  off  and  give  her  to  another  man.  vii.,  172. 

The  wife  must  obey  husband,     x.,  332. 

The  well-behaved  wife  independent  and  respected,  x.,  332. 

Childbirth  generally  takes  place  out-of-doors.  Men  not 
present.  H.  &  D.,  vii.,  375. 

Central  Australians  : 

Marriage  by  capture  at  present,  whatever  it  may  have  been  in 
the  past,  by  no  means  the  rule.  It  is  only  comparatively  rarely 
that  a  native  goes  and  seizes  upon  some  lubra  in  a  neighbouring 
tribe  ;  by  far  most  common  method  of  getting  a  wife  is  by  means  of 
an  arrangement  made  between  brothers  or  fathers  of  respective 
men  and  women,  whereby  a  particular  woman  is  assigned  to  a 
particular  man.  p.  104. 

When  a  man  is  desirous  of  securing  a  woman  living  in  a  distant 
group  and  belonging  to  the  proper  class  for  himself,  it  makes  no 
difference  whether  she  be  already  assigned  or  not  to  some  other 
man — indeed  she  is  perfectly  sure  to  be  so — he  goes  into  the  bush 
taking  a  small  wooden  Churinga  marked  with  a  design  of  his  own 
totem  and  accompanied  by  2  or  3  friends  who  may  be  of  any 
relationship  to  him.  All  night  long  the  men  keep  up  a  low  sing- 
ing of  Quabara  songs  together  with  the  chanting  of  amorous 
phrases  of  invitation  addressed  to  the  woman.  At  daylight  the  man 
stands  up  alone  and  swings  the  Churinga  causing  it  first  to  strike 
the  ground  as  he  whirls  it  round  and  round  and  makes  it  hum. 
Sound  of  humming  is  carried  to  ears  of  far  distant  woman  and 
has  power  of  compelling  affection  and  of  causing  her  sooner  or 


204  The  Family- 

later  to  comply  with  summons,  pp.  541-542.  A  charmed 
head-dress  is  sometimes  worn  conspicuously  by  man  so  that 
desired  woman  can  see  it.  By  some  mysterious  means  her  atten- 
tion is  drawn  to  it  and  she  becomes  violently  attracted  to  man. 
At  night,  if  possible,  when  all  is  quiet  she  creeps  into  his  camp, 
pp.  542-543.  As  love  charms  women  will  sometimes  make  and 
"sing"  special  fur-string  necklets,  which  they  place  around  the 
man's  neck,  or  they  may  simply  charm  a  food  and  give  it  to  the 
man  to  eat.  p.  548. 

In  his  wallet  the  native  carries  a  kind  of  knout  which  has  the 
form  of  a  skein  of  string,  and  is  supposed,  by  men  and  women 
alike,  to  be  of  especial  use  and  efhcacy  in  chastising  women. 

P-  3°-  ... 

Sound  of  bull-roarer  believed  by  women  to  be  voice  of  spirit 

Twanyirika  who  has  taken  a  boy  away  from  them  into  the  bush. 
The  existence  of  this  spirit  is  taught  to  both  uninitiated  youths 
and  women,  p.   246. 
Point  Barrow  Eskimo  : 

Several  cases  where  bridegroom  became  a  member  of  wife's 
family,   p.  410. 

A  man  has  unlimited  authority  in  his  own  hut,  but  with  few 
exceptions  his  rule  is  mild  and  position  of  women  is  one  of 
comfort  and  enjoyment,  p.  414.  There  were  a  few  cases  of 
wife-beating,  chiefly  among  the  younger  men.  In  one  case  a  wife 
gave  her  husband  who  had  attempted  to  abuse  her  a  thorough 
beating  and  then  left  the  house,  p.  414.  Disagreements  between 
man  and  wife  sometimes  lead  to  blows  in  which  the  man  does  not 
always  get  the  best  of  it.  p.  41. 

Wife  consulted  on  all  important  occasions,  p.  427. 

Small  rude  tents  used  as  habitations  for  women  during  confine- 
ments and  for  sewing-rooms  when  they  are  working  on  deerskins 
in  the  autumn,  p.  86.  In  each  village  one  or  more  large  build- 
ings used  for  dancing  and  for  men's  working-room  or  club-house, 
pp.  79-80. 

Behring  Strait  Eskimo  : 

Groom  takes  a  new  suit  of  clothes  to  bride's  home,  puts  them 
on  her  and  she  becomes  his  wife.  p.  291. 

If  parents  of  either  have  no  children  at  home,  newly  married 


Betrothal  and  Marriage  Ceremonial       205 

couple  go  to  live  with  them,  otherwise  they  set  up  their  own 
establishment.  The  wife  is  considered  to  become  more  a  part 
of  the  husband's  family  than  he  of  hers,   p.  291. 

In  one  case  a  woman  walked  75  miles  in  order  that  her  confine- 
ment might  take  place  among  her  own  people,  p.  290.  Kashim 
or  club-house  the  common  sleeping-place  for  men.  Women  and 
children  live  in  houses  apart,  and  men  sleep  with  their  families 
only  occasionally,  p.  285.  The  dwelling-houses  are  the  domain 
of  the  women,  p.  288,  During  festivals,  dances,  etc,  women 
gather  in  Kashim  as  spectators,  and  sometimes  take  part  in  per- 
formances, p,  287,  The  Kashim  is  essentially  the  house  of  the 
men.  During  performance  of  certain  rites  women  rigidly  ex- 
cluded, p.  286.  Games  played  there  in  winter  by  men  and  boys 
and  twice  or  three  times  a  day  food  brought  by  women  from  sur- 
rounding houses.  Unmarried  men  sleep  there  at  all  times  as  they 
have  no  recognised  place  elsewhere,  p.  286,  Among  Malemut 
and  southward  the  girl  at  puberty  must  live  by  herself  in  a  corner 
of  the  house  with  her  face  to  the  wall  for  four  days.  p.  291. 
Among  Unalit  if  a  young  man  should  approach  a  girl  during  her 
four  days'  seclusion  at  puberty  he  would  become  visible  to  every 
animal  he  might  hunt,  p.  291.  Formerly  among  Unalit  a  woman 
in  her  first  confinement  was  isolated  for  a  certain  period.  In  one 
case  a  woman  was  put  in  a  small  brush  hut  covered  with  snow 
and  her  food  was  handed  her  by  her  husband  through  the  small 
opening.  Despite  intensely  cold  weather,  kept  there  about  two 
months,  p,  289.  Those  possessing  power  over  the  invisible  world 
are  usually  men,  but  this  power  is  sometimes  held  by  women,  p. 
427. 

Central  Eskimo  : 

Sometimes  man  and  wife  do  not  set  up  a  household  at  once, 
but  each  remains  at  home.  Property  necessary  for  establishing 
new  family  is  hunting  gear  of  man  and  knife-scraper  and  lamp 
and  cooking-pot  of  woman.  Usually  the  young  couple 
must  begin  housekeeping  with  young  wife's  family,  and  young 
man,  if  belonging  to  a  strange  tribe,  must  join  that  of  his  wife. 
Not  until  after  his  parents-in-law  are  dead  is  he  entirely 
master  of  his  own  actions.  Residence  with  wife's  family 
a  check  upon  polygyny.    Only  when  new  family  settles  on  its  own 


2o6  The  Family 

account  is  a  man  at  full  liberty  to  take  additional  wives,  p.  579. 

Husband  not  allowed  to  maltreat  or  punish  his  wife  ;  if  he  does 
she  may  leave  him  at  any  time.  p.  579. 

In  confinements  women  isolated  in  small  huts  or  snow  houses, 
p.  610.  For  two  months  after  delivery  a  woman  is  not  allowed 
to  enter  any  hut  but  her  own.  p.  611.  For  a  year  after  death  of 
an  infant  a  woman  may  not  enter  a  hut  until  men  in  it  have  come 
out.  p.  612. 

Wyandots  : 

Groom  makes  such  presents  to  mother  as  he  can.  Bride- 
groom and  bride  make  promises  of  faithfulness  to  parents  and 
women  councillors  of  both.  p.  64. 

For  a  short  time  at  least  bride  and  groom  live  with  bride's 
mother.  The  time  when  they  will  set  up  housekeeping  for  them- 
selves is  usually  arranged  before  marriage,  p.  64.  Husbands  live 
in  clans  of  wives.  Retain  all  rights  and  privileges  in  their  own 
clan.  p.  63. 

Melanesians  : 

Araga  :  Sham  fight  between  kinsmen  of  bride  and  kinsmen  of 
groom  at  marriage  feast,  p.  240. 

Lepers'  Isl. :  Form/erly  couple  ate  together  as  a  sign  of  union. 
p.  242. 

Banks'  Isl.:  A  jealous  wife  or  husband  or  a  husband  quarrel- 
ling with  his  wife  would  formerly  commit  suicide,     pp.  243-244. 

Pentecost  Isl.:  Reserve  in  speaking  exercised  by  engaged 
couples  before  giving  of  property  for  girl  is  complete,  /a/ag.    p. 

45- 

Ewe-Speaking  Peoples  : 

At  puberty  a  girl  visits  her  friends  and  relatives  decked  in  he/ 
best  clothes  and  jewelry.  Should  she  be  unbetrothed,  a  suitor 
sends  a  man  and  a  woman  to  her  father's  house  with  two  large 
flasks  of  rum.  If  accepted,  flasks  are  returned  to  him  empty. 
He  then  sends  two  more  full  flasks,  with  two  heads  of  cowries 
and  two  pieces  of  cotton  cloth  for  the  girl.  Then  head-juoney 
proper  is  negotiated.  Gift  of  cowries  and  cloth  constitutes 
betrothal.  On  wedding-day  groom  sends  a  messenger  about  day- 
break with  rum  to  bride's  parents,  who  are  reluctant  to  send  her 


Betrothal  and  Marriage  Ceremonial     207 

to  him.  So  with  a  second  messenger.  At  the  third  messenger, 
towards  sunset,  her  family  escort  her  to  groom's  house.  Feasting, 
and  about  midnight  four  matrons  conduct  bride  to  groom's  room 
and  say:  "If  she  pleases  you  and  behaves  well  treat  her  kindly. 
If  she  behaves  ill,  correct  her."  After  living  with  groom  seven 
days,  she  returns  to  her  old  home.  Seven  days  later  she  cooks 
food  and  sends  it  to  her  husband.  He  sends  a  present  in  return, 
and  that  evening  she  returns  to  him  permanently.  A  second 
feast  follows,  pp.  155-157. 

Should  a  betrothed  girl  die,  parents  bound  to  substitute 
another,  p.  206.  When  an  adulterous  wife  who  is  sold  by  her 
husband  to  her  paramour  dies,  her  family  must  replace  her  by 
another  girl  or  refund  head-money  to  second  husband,  p.  203. 

Head  wife  consulted  by  husband,  and  sometimes  her  opinion 
has  weight,  p.  204. 

Tshi-Speaking  Peoples  : 

A  wife  occupies  a  position  between  that  of  a  servant  and  a 
slave.     Never  regarded  as  equal  of  her  husband,  p.  114. 

Three  months  after  childbirth  mother  makes  offerings  to  family 
god,  and  only  then  allowed  to  go  about  town.  p.  233. 

Yoruba-Speaking  Peoples  : 

Wedding-day  appointed  after  consultation  with  priest.  Not 
uncommon  for  newly  married  couples  to  visit  some  shrine  and 
offer  sacrifice  together,  pp.  153-154. 

In  divorcing  for  adultery  husband  can  claim  back  bride-price. 
If  wife  is  divorced  for  any  cause  but  adultery,  husband  can  not 
claim  back  bride-price,  p.  186.  When  a  man  systematically 
neglects  his  wife,  he  can  be  summoned  by  her  family  to  a  palaver. 
But,  if  he  fail  to  improve,  she  may  leave  him,  and  sometimes,  if 
he  be  of  inferior  rank,  her  family  tie  him  up  and  flog  him.  p. 
187. 

Thompson  River  Indians  : 

In  another  form  of  marriage  [besides  "  placing  down  "],  equally 
honourable,  and  probably  commonest,  girl's  parents  singled  out 
man,  and  approached  him  or  his  parents.  The  betrothal  was  an 
inviolable  engagement.  The  young  man,  when  invited,  did  not 
at  once  repair  to  the  bride's  house  to  claim  her,  but  generally 


2o8  The  Family- 

waited  several  days  until  told  by  his  parents  to  do  so.  He 
stayed  at  her  parents'  house  several  days,  then  took  her  to  his 
father's  house,  where  she  was  well  treated  and  not  allowed  to  do 
any  work.  After  a  few  days  or  weeks  or  even  a  month  or  more, 
young  man's  father  called  neighbours  together  and  informed  them 
of  his  intention  to  conduct  newly-married  couple  back  to  house 
of  bride's  father.  Friends  and  neighbours  then  gave  bridegroom's 
father  presents  of  food  and  other  articles.  On  day  set  father 
presented  his  son,  and  mother  her  daughter-in-law,  with  a  new 
suit  of  clothes;  father  generally  gave  daughter-in-law  two  horses. 
Bride's  father  given  presents  of  food,  and  a  feast  made  for  all. 
Afterwards  couple  gave  their  new  clothes  to  bride's  parents,  who 
gave  them  to  some  of  bride's  kin.  Bride  and  groom  left  with 
bride's  family.  After  a  while  the  friends  made  a  return  visit, 
conducting  couple  back  to  bridegroom's  parents,  couple  being 
mounted  on  horses  presented  to  bridegroom  by  father-in-law.  p, 
323.  Among  Lower  Thompsons,  wealthy  people,  if  pleased  with 
the  son-in-law,  returned  marriage  presents  to  him.  This  custom 
was  exceptional,  and  may  have  been  introduced  from  Coast 
Tribes.  Done  only  by  some  of  the  rich.  Sometimes  a  part  of 
the  presents  only  was  returned,   p,  322. 

If  a  young  man  intentionally  touched  a  young  woman  with  his 
arrow,  the  same  as  asking  her  to  become  his  wife.  If  she  hung 
down  her  head,  it  was  taken  as  an  assent.  Two  days  afterwards 
young  man  went  to  her  house,  and  if  people  called  him  son-in- 
law  and  treated  him  well,  he  knew  that  he  was  accepted,  p.  324. 
If  a  man  touched  a  girl  even  accidentally,  he  had  to  marry  her. 
If  he  touched  her  naked  breasts  or  heel,  he  transformed  her  at 
once  into  his  wife,  and  there  was  no  retraction  for  either  party. 
p.  323.  Youngwomen  also  had  the  privilegeof  touchingyoung  men. 
A  man  not  compelled  to  take  to  wife  girl  who  had  touched 
him,  though  he  usually  did  so.  Some  girls  who  touched  a  man 
and  were  not  accepted  felt  greatly  ashamed  and  committed 
suicide,  p.  324.  Custom  of  marriage  by  "touching"  has  long 
been  out  of  use  ;  but  the  other  forms  of  marriage  still  obtain. 
p.  325.  Sometimes  a  young  man  would  go  to  a  girl's  house  after 
everyone  had  gone  to  bed.  He  would  quietly  lie  down  beside 
her  on  edge  of  her  blanket.  Sometimes  she  would  give  an  alarm 
and  he  would  have  to  run  out,  but  often  she  would  ask  who  he 


Betrothal  and  Marriage  Ceremonial     209 

was.  If  she  did  not  care  for  him  she  told  him  to  leave  or  struck 
him  ;  but  if  she  liked  him  she  said  no  more.  He  lay  this  way  on 
top  of  her  blanket,  she  underneath,  neither  of  them  talking  till 
near  daybreak  ;  then  he  crept  noiselessly  away.  He  would  come 
and  do  likewise  for  three  nights  more.  On  the  fourth  and  last 
night  she  would  put  her  arm  and  hand  outside  the  blanket. 
This  was  a  sure  sign  that  he  was  accepted.  Therefore  he  took 
her  hand  in  his.  From  that  moment  they  were  man  and  wife. 
After  a  feast  prepared  by  girl's  mother  young  man  would  hence- 
forth live  with  his  wife.  Sometimes  the  girl's  parents  gave  no 
feast,  lad's  parents  did  ;  then  the  girl's  father  took  her  to  bride- 
groom's house,  and  she  lived  with  him  and  his  people.  In  this, 
as  in  all  forms  of  marriage  by  touching,  as  a  rule,  no  presents 
were  given  nor  were  ceremonial  visits  made.  p.  324. 

If  a  man  resides  with  his  wife's  people  for  a  year  and  makes 
his  home  mostly  among  them,  considered  a  member  of  that  tribe 
or  band.  The  same  is  the  case  with  a  woman  who  lives  among 
her  husband's  people,  p.  325.  A  married  couple  lived  with  or 
visited  their  respective  parents  just  as  they  felt  inclined,  p.  322. 
On  the  whole  wife  followed  husband  to  live  with  his  family, 
p.  292. 

Considered  man's  duty  to  beat  wife  if  she  were  lazy,  or 
admonish  her,  etc.  p.  295. 

It  was  also  his  duty  to  protect  her.  p.  295.  If  a  woman  has 
a  hard  delivery,  her  husband  goes,  to  the  water  and  bathes.  He 
must  dive  or  plunge  once  so  that  his  whole  body  is  covered. 
Then  he  runs  to  his  house  nude  with  exception  of  his  breech- 
cloth,  and  walks  or  runs  around  it  four  times,  following  sun's 
course.  Then  he  enters,  and  stands  at  his  wife's  head.  After 
this  she  will  give  birth  to  the  child  quickly,  p.  305.  Widows 
and  widowers  had  to  sleep  on  a  bed  made  of  fir  branches  spread 
with  rose-bush  sticks  for  a  year.  They  had  to  wash  themselves 
in  creeks,  etc.,  for  a  year,  otherwise  they  would  be  visited  with 
sore  throat,  loss  of  voice  or  of  sight.  Forbidden  to  eat  venison 
or  flesh  of  any  kind,  etc.,  for  a  year.  Abstained  from  smoking 
for  half  a  year.  The  hair  was  cut  short  or  square  across  the 
neck.  Buckskin  thongs  worn  around  the  ankles,  knees,  and  neck 
were  cut  off  at  the  end  of  a  year  unless  they  had  fallen  off  sooner. 
A  widower  should  not  marry  unless  they  had  fallen  off.  pp.  332-334. 


2IO  The  Family 

Two  or  three  generations  ago  women  seldom  or  never  smoked. 
SmoKing  was  looked  upon  as  privilege  solely  of  men.  Only  such 
women  smoked  as  laid  claim  to  being  strong  in  "medicine."  p. 
300.  Women  played  a  game  of  dice  with  beaver  teeth.  A  game 
played  with  a  number  of  sticks  was  engaged  in  almost  altogether 
by  the  men.  A  ring-and-spear  game  was  j^layed  altogether  by 
men.  A  guessing  game  was  played  principally  by  men.  Many 
Spences  Bridge  women  used  to  play  it,  but  they  had  a  different 
song  for  it  from  the  men.  A  ball  game  was  played  by  young 
men.  Sometimes  for  the  amusement  of  the  men,  the  women  were 
persuaded  to  play  la  crosse.  Shooting  games,  jumping  games, 
foot-  and  horse-races,  wrestling  matches,  tugs-of-war,  etc.,  played 
by  the  boys  and  men.  Swimming  a  favourite  amusement.  The 
men  and  women  always  bathe  in  different  places,  pp.  272-281. 
Women  have  no  voice  in  the  war  councils,  nor  in  any  other 
matters  of  importance,   p.   290. 

Every  woman  had  to  isolate  herself  during  menstruation.  To 
eat  in  company  with,  to  have  any  intercourse  with,  or  even  to 
wear  clothes  or  moccasins  made  or  patched  by  a  woman  during 
this  period  would  give  the  hunter  bad  luck,  and  also  cause  bears 
if  they  smelled  him  to  attack  him  fiercely,  p.  326. 

Kabvles: 

He  who  follows  a  marriage  procession  and  throws  stones  or 
dung,  fined  i  real.  Relatives  of  groom  escort  bride,  firing  off 
guns.  Children  and  men  follow  and  excite  relatives  to  fire  by 
stone-throwing.  This  regulation  is  to  prevent  the  quarrels 
caused  by  this  practice,  iii.,  380.  Imecheddalen  :  The  day 
when  the  bridegroom  is  to  lead  the  bride  to  his  house  all  the 
men  of  the  village  accompany  him  to  her  house.  He  who  stays 
away  is  fined  2  reals,  iii.,  417. 

Ir'il-en-zekri.  If  a  bride  dies  in  her  husband's  home  before  he 
has  completed  payment  of  t/idmamth,  he  must  complete  it.  If  she 
dies  in  her  father's  house  before  going  to  her  husband,  he  need 
not  complete  payment,  but  neither  need  father  return  what 
he  has  already  received,  iii.,  436.  Ait  Ousammer,  etc.  He  who 
marries  a  woman  and  refuses  to  pay  ov&\  thdmamth,  fined  50  reals. 
If  bride's  parents  refuse  to  hand  her  over,  they  are  compelled  to 
do  so  and  are  fined  50  reals,  iii.,  378.     Akbil.     If  a  bridegroom 


Betrothal  and  Marriage  Ceremonial      211 

leave  his  wife  in  her  father's  house  one  year  (when  he  has  not 
enough  money  to  complete  the  thdtna77ith  or  when  he  wishes  to 
marry  another)  and  her  father  complain,  he  is  fined  lo  reals,  iii., 
365.  lazzouzen  Bouadda.  If  a  woman  desert  her  husband,  her 
relatives  give  her  husband  150  reals,  if  their  fortune  suffices  ;  if 
not,  her  kharoiiba  pays  the  sum.  iii.,  436.  Kcar.  He  who  kills 
his  wife  pays  50  reals  to  the  relatives  and  a  fine  of  30  reals,  iii., 
440.  Ait  Souala.  If  a  widow  with  children  remarries  and  then 
leaves  her  second  husband  to  live  with  her  children,  they  must 
return  from  their  patrimony  the  thdmamth  paid  by  him.  iii.,  432. 
Ait  Aissi.  Murder  of  a  husband  is  a  crime  against  community 
and  wife  is  stoned  by  entire  village,  iii.,  71.  If  a  husband  strike 
his  wife  and  she  withdraw  to  home  of  another  where  her  husband 
follows  her,  he  (the  husband)  is  fined  i  real,  iii.,  345.  Ibethran. 
Everyone  clothes  his  wife  and  treats  her  as  he  pleases;  the  com- 
plaints of  a  wife  in  this  respect  are  not  listened  to.  iii.,  434.  In 
illness  wife  must  be  well  cared  for  by  husband.  He  must  furnish 
her  with  medicines  and  nourishing  food,   ii.,  169. 

Ancient  Arabs  : 

Men  stand  superior  to  women  in  that  God  hath  preferred  some 
of  them  over  others,  and  in  that  they  expend  of  their  wealth  ;  and 
the  virtuous  women,  devoted,  careful  (in  their  husbands'  absence), 
as  God  has  cared  for  them.  But  those  whose  perverseness  ye 
fear,  admonish  them  and  remove  them  into  bed-chambers  and 
beat  them  ;  but  if  they  submit  to  you,  then  do  not  seek  a  way 
against  them,  iv.,  38-39.  Your  women  are  your  tilth,  so  come 
into  your  tillage  how  you  choose,  ii.,  224. 

Those  of  you  who  die  and  leave  wives  behind,  let  these  wait 
by  themselves  for  four  months  and  ten  days  ;  and  when  they 
have  reached  the  prescribed  time,  there  is  no  crime  in  them  for 
what  they  do  with  themselves  in  reason,  ii.,  234.  And  when  you 
ask  them  [the  Prophet's  wives]  for  an  article,  ask  them  from  be- 
hind a  curtain  ;  that  is  purer  for  your  hearts  and  for  theirs.  There 
is  no  crime  against  them  if  they  speak  unveiled  to  their  fathers, 
or  their  sons,  or  their  brothers,  or  their  brothers'  sons,  or  their 
sisters'  sons,  or  their  women,  or  what  their  right  hands  possess 
xxxiii.,  53,  55. 

Ancient  Hebrews  : 

Samson  and  his  parents  went  down  to  see  the  woman  Samson 


212  The  Family- 


wished  to  marry.  Samson  talked  with  her  and  she  pleased  him 
well.  And  after  a  time  he  returned  to  take  her.  .  .  .  His 
father  went  down  unto  the  woman  :  and  Samson  made  there  a 
feast ;  for  so  used  the  young  men  to  do.  The  feast  lasted  seven 
days.     Judges  xiv.,  5-17. 

When  the  daughters  of  Shiloh  came  out  to  dance  in  dances, 
the  cliildren  of  Benjamin  lay  in  the  vineyards  and  came  out  and 
took  them  wives,  according  to  their  number,  of  them  that  danced, 
whom  they  caught.  Judges  xxi.,  20-23.  ^^  thou  seest  among  the 
captives  a  beautiful  woman  and  hast  a  desire  unto  her,  that  thou 
would  have  her  to  thy  wife ;  thou  shalt  bring  her  home  to 
thine  house  and  she  shall  shave  her  head  and  pare  her  nails  ;  and 
she  shall  put  the  raiment  of  her  captivity  from  off  her,  and  shall 
remain  in  thy  house  and  bewail  her  father  and  her  mother  a  full 
month  :  and  after  that  thou  shalt  go  in  unto  her,  and  be  her 
husband,  and  she  shall  be  thy  wife.  And  it  shall  be,  if  thou  have 
no  delight  in  her,  then  thou  shalt  let  her  go  whither  she  will,  but 
thou  shalt  not  sell  her  at  all  for  money,  thou  shalt  not  make  mer- 
chandise of  her,  because  thou  hast  humbled  her.  Deut.  xxi.,  10-14. 

Boaz  said  :  Ruth,  the  Moabitess,  have  I  purchased  to  be  my 
wife.  Ruth  iv.,  10.  In  lieu  of  bride-price,  Saul  required  100 
foreskins  of  the  Philistines  from  David,  i  Sam.  xviii.,  25.  And 
the  servant  sent  by  Abraham  to  get  a  wife  for  his  son  Isaac, 
brought  forth  jewels  of  silver,  and  jewels  of  gold,  and  raiment, 
and  gave  them  to  Rebekah  :  he  gave  also  to  her  brother  and  to 
her  mother  precious  things.   Deut.  xxiv.,  53. 

A  certain  Levite  gave  over  his  concubine  to  some  revellers  to 
abuse  in  order  that  he  himself  might  escape.  Judges  xix.,  22-28. 
If  a  wife  make  a  vow  and  her  husband  disallow  her  on  the  day 
that  he  hears  it,  he  shall  make  her  vow  wherewith  she  bound 
her  soul,  of  none  effect  :  and  the  Lord  shall  forgive  her.  Numb. 
XXX.,  6-8. 

Therefore  shall  a  man  leave  his  father  and  his  mother  and 
shall  cleave  unto  his  wife.  Gen.  ii.,  24. 

Anticipating  the  appearance  of  Jehovah  on  Mt.  Sinai,  Moses 
said  unto  the  people  :  "  Be  ready  against  the  third  day  :  come 
not  at  your  wives.   Ex.  xix.,  15. 

Babylonians: 

If  a  man  who  has  brought  a  present  to  the  house  of  his  father- 


Betrothal  and  Marriage  Ceremonial      213 

in-law  and  has  given  the  marriage  settlement,  look  with  longing 
upon  another  woman  and  say  to  his  father-in-law,  "I  will  not  take 
thy  daughter,"  the  father  of  the  daughter  shall  take  to  himself 
whatever  was  brought  to  him.  §  159.  On  the  other  hand,  if  the 
father  say,  "  I  will  not  give  thee  my  daughter,"  he  shall  double 
the  amount  which  was  brought  to  him  and  return  it.  §  160.  If 
the  groom's  friend  slander  him,  and  if  his  father-in-law  say,  "  My 
daughter  thou  shalt  not  have,"  he  (the  father-in-law)  shall  double 
the  amount  which  was  brought  to  him  and  return  it,  but  his 
friend  may  not  have  his  wife.  §  161.  If  his  father-in-law  do  not 
return  to  him  the  marriage  settlement,  he  may  deduct  from  her 
dowry  the  amount  of  the  marriage  settlement  and  return  (the 
rest)  of  her  dowry  to  the  house  of  her  father.  §  164. 

If  a  woman  bring  about  the  death  of  her  husband  for  the  sake 
of  another  man,  they  shall  impale  her.  §  153. 

Ancient  Hindus  : 

Brahma  rite — gift  of  a  daughter,  after  decking  her  with  costly 
garments  and  honouring  her  by  presents  of  jewelry,  to  a  man 
learned  in  the  Veda  and  of  good  conduct,  whom  the  father 
himself  invites.  Daiva  rite — gift  of  a  daughter,  decked  with 
ornaments,  to  a  priest  who  duly  officiates  at  a  sacrifice,  during 
the  course  of  its  performance.  Arsha  rite — gift  of  a  daughter 
when  the  father  has  received  from  the  bridegroom  for  the  fulfil- 
ment of  the  sacred  law  a  cow  and  a  bull  or  two  pairs.  Praga- 
patya  rite — gift  of  a  daughter  after  the  father  has  addressed  the 
couple,  "  May  both  of  you  perform  together  your  duties." 
Asura  rite — when  groom  receives  a  maiden  after  [giving  as  much 
wealth  as  he  can  afford,  according  to  his  own  will,  to  the  kins- 
men and  the  bride  herself.  Gandharva  rite — voluntary  union  of 
a  maiden  and  her  lover,  springing  from  desire.  Rakshasa  rite — 
forcible  abduction  of  a  weeping  maiden  from  her  home  after  her 
kinsmen  have  been  slain  or  wounded.  Pisakas  rite — seduction 
of  a  sleeping,  intoxicated,  or  disordered  girl  by  stealth, — a  base 
and  sinful  rite.  First  six  lawful  for  a  Brahmana,  four  last  for  a 
Kshatriya  and,  excepting  the  Rakshasa  rite,  for  a  Vaisya  and 
a  Stidra.  The  sages  state  that  the  first  four  are  approved  for  a 
Brahmana,  the  Rakshasa,  for  a  Kshatriya,  and  the  Asura  for  a 
Vaisya  and  Slidra.  The  Institutes  of  Manu  declare  that  the 
Pisakas  and  Asura  rites  are  unlawful,  and  must  never  be  used. 


2  14  The  Family 

For  Kshatriyas  the  Gandharvaand  Rakshasa  are  permitted  by 
the  sacred  tradition.  The  ceremony  of  joining  hands  is  pre- 
scribed for  marriages  with  women  of  equal  caste.  On  marrying 
a  man  of  higher  caste,  a  Kshatriya  bride  must  take  hold  of  an 
arrow,  a  Vaisya  bride  of  a  goad,  and  a  SQdra  female  of  the  hem 
of  a  bridegroom's  garment,  iii.,  20-24.  For  stealing  a  woman 
a  man  after  death  becomes  a  bear,  vii.,  67. 

If,  after  one  damsel  has  been  shown,  another  be  given  to  the 
bridegroom,  Manu  ordains  that  he  may  marry  them  both  for  the 
same  price,  viii.,  204.  No  good  man  has  ever  promised  a 
daughter  to  one  man  and  given  her  to  another,  ix.,  99.  If  the 
giver  of  the  nuptial  fee  dies,  the  damsel,  with  her  consent^  shall 
be  given  in  marriage  to  his  brother,  ix.,  97. 

No  crime,  causing  loss  of  caste,  is  committed  by  swearing 
falsely  to  women,  the  objects  of  one's  desire,  at  marriages,  viii., 
112.  The  husband  who  weds  his  wife  with  sacred  texts  always 
gives  happiness  to  her,  in  this  world  and  in  the  next,  v.,  153. 
The  husband  is  referred  to  as  the  lord  and  otvner  of  his  wife, 
ix.,  32,  42-43,  46.  If  a  wife  obeys  her  husband,  she  will  for  that 
reason  alone  be  exalted  in  heaven.  ...  A  faithful  wife  who 
desires  to  dwell  after  death  with  her  husband  must  never  do 
anything  that  might  displease  him,  alive  or  dead.  ...  By  vio- 
lating her  duty  towards  him,  after  death  she  enters  the  womb  of  a 
jackal  and  is  tormented  by  diseases,  v.,  155-156,  160-161, 164-166. 
Having  committed  a  fault  she  may  be  beaten  in  the  same  way  as 
a  son,  etc.  viii.,  299-300.  In  childhood  a  female  must  be  sub- 
ject to  her  father;  in  youth,  to  her  husband;  when  her  lord  is 
dead,  to  her  sons  ;  a  woman  must  never  be  independent.  .  .  . 
The  betrothal  by  the  father  or  guardian  is  the  cause  of  the 
husband's  dominion.  Though  destitute  of  virtue,  or  seeking 
pleasure  elsewhere,  or  devoid  of  good  qualities,  yet  a  husband 
must  be  constantly  worshipped  as  a  god  by  a  faithful  wife,  v., 
147-167. 

A  wife  is  protected  by  her  husband.  She  may  not  be  cast  off 
except  for  a  crime  causing  loss  of  caste — penalty  for  casting  her 
off  a  fine  of  600  panas  by  the  king.  He  who  carefully  guards 
his  wife  preserves  the  purity  of  his  offspring,  virtuous  conduct, 
his  family,  himself,  and  his  means  of  acquiring  merit,  viii.,  389; 
ix.,  3,  57.     Between  wives  who  are  destined  to  bear  children, 


Betrothal  and  Marriage  Ceremonial      215 

who  secure  many  blessings,  who  are  worthy  of  worship  and  ir- 
radiate their  dwellings,  and  between  the  goddesses  of  fortune  who 
reside  in  the  houses  of  men  there  is  no  difference  whatsoever. 
Offspring,  the  due  performance  of  religious  rites,  faithful  service, 
highest  conjugal  happiness,  and  heavenly  bliss  for  the  an- 
cestors and  oneself,  depend  on  one's  wife  alone,  ix.,  26,  28. 
One's  wife  must  be  considered  as  one's  own  body,  iv.,  184. 
Where  women  are  honoured  by  father,  brothers,  husbands, 
brothers-in-law,  there  the  gods  are  pleased;  but  where  they  are 
not  honoured  no  sacred  rite  yields  rewards.  Where  they  live  in 
grief,  the  family  soon  wholly  perishes,  iii.,  55-58.  The  husband 
receives  his  wife  from  the  gods;  he  does  not  wed  her  according 
to  his  own  will,  doing  what  is  agreeable  to  the  gods;  he  must 
always  support  her  while  she  is  faithful,  ix.,  95.  Men,  i.  e., 
relatives,  should  honour  women  on  holidays  and  festivals  with 
gifts  of  ornaments,  clothes,  and  dainty  food,  iii.,  59. 

Ancient  Chinese  : 

The  bridegroom  himself  stands  by  the  carriage  of  the  bride, 
and  hands  to  her  the  strap  to  assist  her  in  mounting, — showing 
his  affection.  Having  that  affection,  he  seeks  to  bring  her  near 
to  him.  It  was  by  such  reverence  and  affection  for  their  wives 
that  the  ancient  kings  obtained  the  kingdom.  In  passing  out 
from  the  great  gate  of  her  father's  house,  he  precedes  and  she 
follows,  and  with  this  the  right  relation  between  husband  and 
wife  commences.  The  woman  follows  and  obeys  her  husband  ; 
in  her  youth  she  follows  her  father  and  elder  brother;  when  mar- 
ried she  follows  her  husband;  when  her  husband  is  dead  she 
follows  her  son.  "  Man  "  denotes  supporter.  The  dark-coloured 
cap  (the  dress  in  sacrificing),  and  the  preceding  fasting  and  vigil, 
with  which  the  bridegroom  meets  the  bride,  make  the  ceremony 
like  the  service  of  spiritual  beings.  Husband  and  wife  ate  to- 
gether of  the  same  victim, — thus  declaring  that  they  were  of  the 
same  rank.  Hence  while  the  wife  herself  had  no  rank,  she  was 
held  to  be  of  the  rank  of  her  husband,  and  she  took  her  seat  ac- 
cording to  the  position  belonging  to  him.  On  the  day  after  the 
marriage,  the  wife  having  washed  her  hands,  prepared  and  pre- 
sented a  sucking-pig  to  her  husband's  parents;  and  when  they 
had  done  eating,  she  ate  what  was  left,  as  a  mark  of  their  special 


2i6  The  Family 

regard.  They  descended  from  the  hall  by  the  steps  on  the  west, 
while  she  did  so  by  those  on  the  east; — so  was  she  established  in 
the  wife's  or  mistress's  place.  At  the  marriage  ceremony  they 
did  not  employ  music, — having  reference  to  the  feeling  of  soli- 
tariness and  darkness  natural  to  the  separation  from  parents. 
There  was  no  congratulation  on  marriage, — it  indicates  how  one 
generation  of  men  succeeds  to  another,  xxvii.,  439-442.  The  gen- 
tleman went  in  person  to  meet  the  bride,  the  man  taking  the 
initiative  and  not  the  woman,  xxvii.,  440.  The  ceremony  of 
marriage  was  intended  to  be  a  bond  of  love  between  two  families 
of  different  surnames,  with  a  view,  in  its  retrospective  character,  to 
secure  the  services  in  the  ancestral  temple,  and  in  its  prospective 
character,  to  secure  the  continuance  of  the  family  line.  There- 
fore the  superior  men  set  a  great  value  upon  it.  Hence  in  regard 
to  the  various  introductory  ceremonies, — the  proposal,  with  its 
accompanying  gift  (always  a  goose);  the  inquiries  about  the  lady's 
name;  the  intimation  of  the  approving  divination;  the  receiving 
of  the  special  offerings;  and  the  request  to  fix  the  day, — these  all 
were  received  by  the  principal  party  on  the  lady's  side,  as  he 
rested  on  his  mat  or  leaning-stool  in  the  ancestral  temple.  When 
they  arrived,  he  met  the  messenger  and  greeted  him  outside  the 
gate,  giving  place  to  him  as  he  entered,  after  which  they  ascended 
to  the  hall.  There  were  the  instructions  received  in  the  ancestral 
temple,  and  in  this  way  was  the  ceremony  respected,  and  watched 
over,  while  its  importance  was  exhibited  and  care  taken  that  all 
its  details  should  be  correct.  The  father  himself  gave  the  special 
cup  to  his  son,  and  ordered  him  to  go  and  meet  the  bride;  it 
being  proper  that  the  male  should  take  the  first  step.  The  bride's 
father  met  him  outside  the  gate,  and  then  the  son-in-law  entered, 
carrying  a  wild  goose.  After  the  customary  bows  and  yieldings 
of  precedence,  they  went  up  to  the  ancestral  hall,  when  the  bride- 
groom bowed  twice  and  put  down  the  goose.  Then  and  in  this 
way  he  received  the  bride  from  her  parents.  After  this  they 
went  down,  and  he  went  out  and  took  the  reins  of  the  horses  of 
her  carriage,  which  he  drove  for  three  revolutions  of  the  wheels, 
having  handed  the  strap  to  assist  her  in  mounting.  He  then  went 
before  and  waited  outside  his  gate.  When  she  arrived,  he  bowed 
to  her  as  she  entered.  They  ate  together  of  the  same  animal  and 
joined  in  sipping  from  the  cups  made  of  the  same  melon;  thus 


Betrothal  and  Marriage  Ceremonial     217 

showing  that  they  now  formed  one  body,  were  of  equal  rank,  and 
pledged  to  mutual  affection.  The  respect,  the  caution,  the  im- 
portance, the  attention  to  secure  correctness  in  all  the  details,  and 
then  the  pledge  of  mutual  affection, — these  were  the  great  points 
in  the  ceremony,  xxviii.,  428-430,  Confucius  said:  "  The  family 
that  has  married  a  daughter  away  does  not  extinguish  its  candles 
for  three  nights,  thinking  of  the  separation  that  has  taken  place." 
After  three  months  she  presents  herself  in  the  ancestral  temple 
(of  her  husband)  and  is  styled  "  the  new  wife  that  has  come."  A 
day  is  chosen  for  her  to  sacrifice  at  the  shrine  of  her  (deceased) 
father-in-law;  expressing  the  idea  of  her  being  now  the  estab- 
lished wife,  xxvii.,  322.  Rising  early  the  morning  after  mar- 
riage, the  young  wife  washed  her  head  and  bathed  her  person, 
and  waited  to  be  presented  to  her  husband's  parents,  which  was 
done  by  the  directrix,  as  soon  as  it  was  bright  day.  She  ap- 
peared before  them,  bearing  a  basket,  with  dates,  chestnuts,  and 
sliced  dried  spiced  meat.  The  directrix  set  before  her  a  cup  of 
sweet  liquor,  and  she  offered  in  sacrifice  some  of  the  dried  meat 
and  also  of  the  liquor,  thus  performing  the  ceremony  which  de- 
clared her  their  son's  wife.  The  father-in-law  and  mother-in-law 
then  entered  their  apartment,  where  she  set  before  them  a  single 
dressed  pig,  thus  showing  the  obedient  duty  of  their  son's  wife. 
Next  day  the  parents  united  in  entertaining  the  young  wife,  and 
when  the  ceremonies  of  their  severally  pledging  her  in  a  single  cup, 
and  her  pledging  them  in  return,  had  been  performed,  they  de- 
scended by  the  steps  on  the  west  and  she  by  those  on  the  east, 
thus  showing  that  she  would  take  the  mother's  place  in  the  family, 
xxviii.,  430-431.  Zang-zze  asked,  "  If  the  lady  die  before  she  has 
presented  herself  in  the  ancestral  temple,  what  course  should  be 
adopted?  "  Confucius  said:  "  Her  coffin  should  not  be  removed 
to  the  ancestral  temple,  nor  should  her  tablet  be  placed  next  to 
that  of  her  mother-in-law.  The  husband  should  not  carry  the 
staff  ;  nor  wear  the  shoes  of  straw  ;  nor  have  a  special  place  for 
wailing.  She  should  be  taken  back,  and  buried  among  her  kin- 
dred of  her  own  family, — showing  that  she  had  not  become  the 
established  wife."  xxvii.,  322.  The  ceremony  of  marriage  is  the 
beginning  of  a  line  that  shall  last  for  a  myriad  ages.  There  must 
be  sincerity  in  the  marriage  presents.  Presents  are  interchanged 
before  the  parties  see  each  other, — this  reverence  serving   to 


2iS  The  Family 

illustrate  the  distinction  that  should  be  observed  between  man 
and  woman,  xxvii.,  439,  440. 

When  an  aunt  or  sister  died  leaving  no  son,  if  her  husband  also 
were  dead,  and  there  were  no  brother  or  cousin  in  his  relative 
circle,  some  other  of  her  husband's  more  distant  relatives  were 
employed  to  preside  at  her  mourning  rites.  None  of  a  wife's 
relatives,  however  near,  could  preside  at  them.  If  no  distant 
relative  even  of  her  husband  could  be  found,  then  a  neighbour  on 
the  east  or  the  west  was  employed.  Some  say  one  of  her  rela- 
tives might  preside,  but  her  tablet  was  placed  by  that  of  the  proper 
relative  of  her  husband,  xxviii.,  162-163.  For  a  female  member  of 
the  family  who  had  married,  and  for  whom  therefore  mourning 
was  not  worn,  the  hempen  sack  was  assumed,  xxvii.,  374,  Slight 
mourning  is  worn  for  an  aunt  and  an  elder  and  younger  sister, 
when  they  have  been  married;  the  reason  being  that  there  are 
those  who  received  them  from  us,  and  will  render  to  them  the 
full  measure  of  observance,     xxvii.,  147. 

The  partner  of  a  son  of  Heaven  is  called  "the  queen";  of  a 
feudal  prince,  "the  helpmate";  of  a  great  officer,  "  the  attend- 
ant"; of  an  inferior  officer,  "the  serving  woman";  of  a  common 
man,  "the  mate."  From  the  honourable  women  downwards,  each 
member  of  the  harem  (royal)  called  herself  "  your  handmaid." 
xxvii.,  113.  In  sacrificing  to  a  husband  he  is  called  "  the  sovereign 
pattern."  xxvii.,  118.  A  bride  should  be  admonished  to  be  up- 
right and  sincere.  Faithfulness  is  specially  the  virtue  of  a  wife. 
Once  mated  with  her  husband,  all  her  life  she  will  not  change  her 
feeling  of  duty  to  him,  and  she  will  not  marry  again,  xxvii.,  439. 

What  are  the  things  which  men  consider  right?  Righteous- 
ness on  the  part  of  the  husband,  and  submission  on  that  of  the 
wife,  xxvii.,  379-380.  Anciently  it  was  required  of  a  man  to  show 
respect  to  his  wife  and  son.  The  wife  was  the  hostess  of  the 
deceased  parents  ;  could  any  husband  dare  not  to  show  her 
respect?  xxvii.,  266. 

The  observances  of  propriety  commence  with  a  careful  atten- 
tion to  the  relations  between  husband  and  wife.  The  men  occu- 
pied the  exterior  of  the  house,  the  women  the  interior.  The 
mansion  was  deep  and  tlie  doors  were  strong,  guarded  by  porter 
and  eunuch.  The  men  did  not  enter  the  interior,  the  women  did 
not  come  out  into  the  exterior.     The  wife  did  not  presume  to 


Betrothal  and  Marriage  Ceremonial     219 

hang  up  anything  on  the  pegs  or  stand  of  her  husband  ;  not  to  put 
anything  in  his  boxes  or  satchels  ;  nor  to  share  his  bathing-house. 
It  was  not  until  husband  and  wife  were  seventy  that  they  deposited 
their  pillows  and  mats  in  the  same  place,  xxvii.,  470-471.  When 
a  young  lady  is  promised  in  marriage,  unless  there  be  some  great 
occasion,  no  male  enters  the  door  of  her  apartment,  xxvii.,  77. 
Male  and  female  without  the  intervention  of  the  matchmaker  do 
not  know  each  other's  name.  Unless  the  marriage  presents  have 
been  received  there  should  be  no  communication  or  afifection 
between  them,  xxvii.,  78. 

Ancient  Romans  : 

Wife  defeats  husband's  acquisition  of  marital  power  through 
one  year's  possession  by  absenting  herself  for  three  consecutive 
nights  in  each  year.  Table  vi.  Formerly  women  might  fall  under 
marital  power  in  one  of  three  ways,  viz  :  by  use,  by  the  ceremony 
of  spelt  cake,  and  by  fictitious  purchase.  Use  brought  a  woman 
under  marital  power  when  she  continued  as  a  married  woman  to 
occupy  her  husband's  house  for  a  whole  year  without  interrup- 
tion, for  she  was  then,  as  it  were,  acquired  by  uninterrupted  use 
through  one  year's  possession,  passing  into  her  husband's  family 
and  filling  the  place  of  daughter.  But  this  regulation  has  been 
abolished,  partly  by  legislation  and  partly  by  disuse.  In  the 
ceremony  of  the  spelt  cake  a  kind  of  sacrificial  offering  to  Jupiter 
is  made  in  the  presence  of  ten  witnesses  in  which  spelt 
cake  is  used  and  many  observances  gone  through.  This  right  is 
practised  even  in  our  times  ;  for,  the  greater  flamens — that  is,  the 
priests  of  Jupiter,  Mars,  and  Quirinus,  as  also  the  sacrificial 
priests,  unless  they  are  the  issue  of  a  marriage  by  the  spelt  cake 
ceremony,  cannot  be  selected  nor  can  they  hold  office,  unless 
their  own  marriage  was  contracted  in  the  same  way.  Women 
fall  under  the  marital  power  through  a  fictitious  purchase  made 
by  means  of  the  process  of  formal  conveyance — that  is,  a  kind  of 
imaginary  sale,  in  which,  in  the  presence  of  not  less  than  five  wit- 
nesses, Roman  citizens,  above  the  age  of  puberty,  and  a  scale 
bearer,  the  husband  buys  the  woman.  The  woman  goes  through 
this  form  with  her  husband  in  order  that  she  may  stand  related 
to  him  as  a  daughter.  She  may  also  go  through  it  with  her  hus- 
band or  with  some  other  person  for  a  judiciary  purpose,  e.g.  to 
escape  from  guardianship.     Formerly,  this  practice  was  resorted 


2  20  The  Family 

to  for  making  a  testament.  For  at  that  time,  with  the  exception 
of  certain  persons,  women  had  not  the  right  of  making  a  testa- 
ment unless  they  had  gone  through  the  fictitious  purchase  and 
had  been  again  formally  sold  and  afterwards  released  from  power. 
Under  Hadrian  the  Senate  dispensed  with  the  necessity  of  the 
fictitious  purchase.  No  matter  what  has  been  the  reason  that 
has  brought  the  wife  under  the  marital  power  of  her  husband,  it 
is  settled  that  her  rights  which  then  commence  are  those  of  a 
daughter.  G.  i.,  §§  108-115  B;  /.  i.,  xi.  Women  may  be  sold 
by  their  fictitious  purchasers  by  the  same  formal  process  used  in 
the  case  of  children  when  sold  by  their  ascendant.  6^.i,,§ii8;  y". 
i.,  xi.  If  it  be  asked  in  what  consists  the  difference  between  the 
fictitious  purchase  of  a  woman,  and  the  process  of  formal  sale,  it 
is  that  she  who  goes  through  the  forms  of  the  fictitious  purchase, 
is  not  reduced  into  a  servile  condition.   G.  i.,  §  123;  _/.  i.,  xi. 

French  : 

165.  Marriages  shall  be  celebrated  publicly  in  the  presence  of 
civil  officer  of  domicil  of  one  of  the  two  parties. 

213.  A  husband  owes  protection  to  his  wife  ;  a  wife,  obedience 
to  her  husband.  214.  A  wife  is  bound  to  live  with  her  husband 
and  to  follow  him  wherever  he  deems  proper  to  reside.  The 
husband  is  bound  to  receive  her,  and  to  supply  her  with  what- 
ever is  necessary  for  the  wants  of  life,  according  to  his  means  and 
condition,  212.  Husband  and  wife  owe  each  other  fidelity, 
support,  and  assistance. 

People  of  United  States  : 

All  marriages  procured  by  force  or  fraud  void.   §  23. 

Celebration  either  before  a  clergyman  or  with  participation  of 
some  civil  officer  required  ;  but  unless  local  statute  positively 
directs  that  marriage  without  such  formal  ceremony  be  held  void, 
informal  marriage  (common-law  marriage)  valid.  §  29. 

Husband  has  right  to  fix  matrimonial  domicile  where  he 
pleases,  §  37.  Any  contract  which  husband  may  make  before 
marriage  not  to  take  wife  away  from  neighbourhood  of  her  parents 
void.  Strong  disposition  to  reduce  this  marital  right  of  fixing 
domicile,  particularly  when  wife  has  the  fortune  which  supports 
family,  §  38,  An  alien  woman  marrying  a  citizen  of  the  United 
States  becomes  a  citizen  also.  §  39.  A  wife  goes  by  her  husband's 


Betrothal  and  Marriage  Ceremonial     221 

surname  ;  but  proceedings  under  assumed  name  of  a  married 
woman  have  been  upheld.   §  40. 

Force  to  compel  submission  of  a  wife  so  as  to  injure  her  health 
or  threaten  disease  is  legal  cruelty.  Husband  hasnot  the  right  of 
physical  constraint.  §  45.  Husband  and  wife  may  be  indicted 
for  assault  and  battery  upon  each  other.  §  4S.  A  husband  may 
sue  for  damages  all  persons  who  seek  to  entice  his  wife  away  or 
induce  her  to  live  apart  from  him.  §  41.  In  some  States  a  wife 
has  same  right.  §  41  N.  i.  Wife  is  husband's  representative  or 
executive  officer  in  the  household.  Expected  to  conform  to  his 
habits  and  tastes,  even  to  his  eccentricities,  provided  her  health 
be  not  seriously  endangered  ;  but  whether  he  can  obtain  redress, 
if  she  rebels  against  oppressive  discipline,  extremely  doubtful. 
§  46.  Wife's  duty  to  love,  honour,  and  obey  ;  husband's  to  love, 
cherish,  and  protect.  He  is  head  of  the  house,  and  if  wife's 
wishes  and  interests  clash  with  his,  she  must  yield.  §  35  N.  2. 

In  general,  husband  may  be  charged  with  wife's  necessaries. 
§71.  Inability  of  a  husband  to  support  wife  is  not  a  ground  for 
divorce.  §  42. 


LECTURE  X 

ECONOMIC    RELATIONS    BETWEEN     HUSBAND     AND     WIFE 

Division  ofiabour  A  CCORDING  to  cconomic  conditions,  the  hus- 
^iTwifc''"^''*'"^  ^  band  is  hunter,  fisherman,  herdsman,  tiller  of 
the  soil,  trader,  and,  in  predominantly  industrial  socie- 
ties, the  chief  or  only  wage-  or  salary-earner  of  the 
family.  The  wife  digs  roots,  gathers  berries,  seeds, 
fruits,  and  shell-fish,  carries  burdens,  rows  her  hus- 
band's canoe  or  boat,  cares  for  his  nets  and  traps  and 
weapons,  dresses  skins,  works  in  the  garden  and  field, 
looks  after  the  domestic  animals,  prepares  food  and 
clothes  and  domestic  vessels,  and  provides,  in  general, 
for  the  economic  needs  of  the  household.  In  migrra- 
I  tory  groups,  carrying,   in    the    absence    of   beasts    of 

burden,  naturally  falls  to  the  women,  for  the  men 
must  be  free  to  hunt  for,  or  protect  against  animal  or 
human  aggressors,  the  women  and  children.  In  pas- 
toral communities,  herding,  which  has  developed  from 
hunting,  naturally  falls  to  the  men,  although  the 
women  may  in  some  cases  milk  and  drive  the  cows  to 
pasture.  In  the  primitive  forms  of  nomadic  agricul- 
ture which  develop  out  of  seed  and  plant  collecting, 
and  which  are  found  among  hunting  or  herding 
peoples,  all  the  work  of  cultivation,  except  the  clear- 
ing of  the  ground,  is  generally  done  by  the  women. 
Under  the  wage-earning  system,  the  wife  may  also 
supplement  her  husband's  wages  or  under  special 
conditions  be  the  sole  wage-earner  of  the  family. 


Economic  Relations  223 

In  polygyny,  particularly  in  concubinage,  there  is  Division  of  ubour 

.  ....  r   1     1  [   r  '  °^  functions  io 

commonly  a  division  of  labour  or  01  lunctions  among  polygyny 
the  wives.     Sometimes  the  younger  or  more  pleasing 
serve  for  the  sexual  gratification  of  their  husbands  or 
for  child-bearing,^  while  the  older  who  are  past  child- 
bearing  become  the  house  or  field  drudges.     Some 
times,  on  the  other  hand,  the  first  or  older  wife  may 
have   the   supervision   of   the  younger  and  subordi 
nate  wives.     When  each  wife  has  a  separate  home, 
a  division  of  labour   is   naturally  to  a  great  extent 
precluded. 

The  division  of  a  society  into  highly  differentiated  ^age-Tystem,  and 
economic  classes  brings  with  it  the  exemption  of  the  po'yeyny 
wives  (  and  children  )  of  the  higher  economic  classes 
from  productive  labour.    Slavery  and  the  wage-system 
become    substitutes   for   polygyny   in    its    utilitarian 
aspects.     The  type  of  concubinage  to  which  we  have 
just  referred,  in  which  the   concubines  are  markedly 
inferior,  and  economically  subordinate,  to  the  wife  is 
an  early  example   of  this  substitution.     The  custom 
of  the  bride  giving  the  slave-girl  whom   she  has  re-  siave-giri  dowry 
ceived  from  her  parents  as  a  dowry  to  her  husband 
as  a  concubine  is  particularly  interesting  in  this  con- 
nection.     Likewise  the  fact  that  it  is  not  unusual   for 
a  wife  to  urcre  her  husband  to  take  another  wife  or   a 
concubine  in  order  to  lighten  her  own  labour.     When  obligatory  absten- 

^  ■%  ^  ,        r         ^     •  i  1*  1  tion  from  produc- 

in  the  development  of  a  leisure   class  leisurely  occu-  tion  by  leisure-ciass 
pations  or  non-productive  activities  become  badges  of  ^'^* 
reputability,  abstaining  from  productive  labour   may 
even  become  obligatory  upon  wives  as  expressing  the 

•  If  these  women  are  permanently  differentiated  into  child-bearers  and  non- 
child-bearers,  as  in  the  case  of  the  Greek  hetaira  and  the  modern  dentin 
numdaine,  the  latter  class  are  not  of  course  in  a  marriage  relation  at  all. 


224  The  Family 

superior  economic  position  held  in  the  community  by 
Effect  upon  wives     thcir  husbancls.    A  change  of  habit  on  the  part  of  the 

of  inferior  economic  •  r       i  •  •  ^  rr 

classes  wivcs  of  thc  supcrior  economic  class  effects  a  corre- 

sponding, although  necessarily  slighter,  change  in  the 
lives  of  the  wives  of  inferior  economic  classes. 

Effect  of  marital  Marital  ownershjp  more  or  less  precludes  the  inde- 

ownership  on  pro-  i       i   i-  •     i  •    • 

perty  rights  of        pendent  holding  or  inheriting  of  property  by  wives. 

women.     The  %vife       /-t->i  -r      •       i  if         r  C  ^  01  1 

isherseifaformof     1  he  Wile  IS  hcrselt  a  torm  ot  property,     bhe  may  be 

property  killed,  loaned,  exchanged,  sold,  or  foreclosed  for  debt 

by  her  husband-owner.  (As  in  the  case  of  offspring, 
the  right  to  sell  or  whip  her  becomes  modified  to  the 
right  to  do  so  only  as  a  punishment  for  misbehaviour.) 
If  a  man  commit  adultery  with  another's  wife,  his 
own  wife  may  even  be  violated  as  an  equivalent  for 

Disposal  of  widows  his  own  encroachmeut.  As  a  form  of  property  a  wife 
may  be  immolated  at  the  death  of  her  husband  (actual 
or  affianced  ),^  or  inherited  by  his  relatives,  by  his 
sons,  brothers,  clansmen,  etc.  Sexual  privileges  do 
not  always  accompany  widow-inheritance,  and  the 
inheritance  may  be  chiefly  in  the  nature  of  an  obliga- 
tion to  support  and  protect  the  widow.  It  may  also 
consist  of  the  right  to  marry  off  the  widow  and  receive 
the  bride-price  which  she  may  bring.  Widows  may  also 
be  forbidden  to  marry  during  arbitrarily  determined 
periods  lasting  from  a  few  weeks  to  a  lifetime.  This 
prescription  may  of  course  be  due  in  some  instances 
to  corpse  taboo  or  to  a  desire  to  preclude  uncertainty 
about  paternity  as  well  as  to  proprietary  ideas  about 
the  widow. 

Female  ownership        There  are  cases  where,  despite  well-defined  marital 

and  inheritance  of  ....  .     .  I  .  <• 

feminine  goods  owuership,  wives  have  a  right  to  the  possession  ot 
distinctly  feminine  goods,  clothes,  household  imple- 

'  Frequently  this  custom  is  confined  in  a  group  to  the  royal  or  chiefly  class. 


Economic  Relations  225 

merits,  etc.  Such  property  is  commonly  inherited 
from  mother  to  daufrhter.  Aeain,  the  existence  of  a 
dowry  commonly  entitles  the  wife  to  certain  pro- 
perty rights.  The  dowry  may  be  her  separate  pro-  Dotal  property 
perty  subject  only  to  her  administration.  More 
frequently,  however,   the  husband  has    the  right  of  Marital  administra. 

....  ,  .  .  ,  .         tion  and  usufruct 

administration  and  usufruct  over  dotal  property.  At 
death  or  separation  the  dowry  usually  reverts  to 
the  wife  or  her  relatives.  Other  kinds  of  property  Property  entirely 
besides  dowry  may  also  be  considered  the  separate  "p**"**' 
property  of  the  wife.  Again,  her  property  rights 
may  be  entirely  unaffected  by  her  marriage,  the 
property  that  she  has  acquired  both  before  and  after 
marriage  being  separate  and  independent  of  her  hus- 
band's control. 

Besides  the  various  individual  property   customs  community 
referred  to,  there  is  also  a  widespread  communal   sys- 
tem   for  matrimonial   property.       In  the    communal 
system,  all  matrimonial  property  is  a  joint  possession. 
The  principle   of  community  may   be  ofeneral  or  it 

r  r  J  J  i:>  Limited  com- 

may  apply  only  to  the  property  acquired  after  mar-  munity 
riage.     Again,  certain  kinds  of  property  may  be  ex- 
cluded   from    the    community  —  movable    property, 
property   exclusively  for  personal    use,   ante-nuptial 
debts,  and  dotal  property  ( the  profit  and  proceeds  of 
such  property  belong  to  the  community),  donations 
or  successions,   etc.      The  husband  administers  the  Marital  administra. 
property  of  the  community.      His  power  may  be  lim-  munity*'''  ''°'"* 
ited,  however,  in  certain  cases.     The  consent  of  the 
wife  may  be  necessary  to  the  alienation  of  the  com- 
mon property,  or  she  herself  may  be  given  a  limited 
right   of  administration.      With   certain    exceptions, 
the  common  property  is  liable  for  the  obligations  of 


2  26  The  Family 

each  of  the  married  persons.  In  view,  however,  of 
the  wife's  exchision  in  general  from  the  administra- 
tion of  the  common  property,  she  is,  as  a  rule,  not 
held  personally  liable  for  obligations  incurred  in  its 
administration. 
Mixed  systems  Individual  and  communal  systems  may  be  combined, 

as  when  certain  classes  of  property  are  excluded 
as  we  have  seen,  from  the  community.  Again,  pro- 
perty owned  before  marriage  may  be  accounted  sepa- 
rate, and  that  acquired  after  marriage,  communal. 
Right  to  wife's  ser-  TheHghtto  a  wifc's  services  or  earnings  is  more 
vices  or  earnings  gr  less  closely  connected  wlth  prevailing  ideas  about 
her  property  rights  in  general.  Where  she  has  no 
separate  property,  her  earnings  usually  fall  to  her 
husband  or  to  the  community,  although,  as  we  shall 
see  later  in  transitional  systems,  her  right  to  her  own 
product  may  be  more  or  less  protected.  Under  mar- 
riage by  purchase,  a  wife's  labour  is  sometimes  thought 
of  as  a  form  of  redemption  of  the  bride-price,  and 
after  an  equivalent  has  been  earned  by  her  she  may 
'  become  economically  independent    of   her  husband. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  custom  also  exists  of  freeing  a 
bride  of  work  of  any  kind  for  a  stated  period. 
Inheritance  of  mat-       Rulcs   of  successlou   iu   matrimonial   property  are 
nmon.ai  property     j^^j-^j.^||y   dependent  upou  the  property  relations  of 
married    persons  during  their  lifetime.     Where  the 
chattel  character  attaches  to  women,  widows  are   in- 
herited, as  has  been  stated,  by  the  deceased  husband's 
male    relatives,    most    commonly    by    his    brothers. 
Marriage  with  her  brother-in-law  may  even  be  con- 
widows claim  for    sidcrcd  a  due  to  the  widow  herself.     Where  a  period 
•upport  ^^  widowhood  is  required  or  expected  out  of  respect 

for  the  deceased,   the  propertyless  widow  has   com- 


Economic  Relations  227 

monly  a  claim  for  support  for  varying  periods  upon 
her  husband's  estate  or  upon  the  relatives  inheriting 
it,  sons,  father,  brothers,  etc.  Widows  who  return, 
as  happens  in  many  groups,  to  their  fathers'  home, 
are  precluded,  of  course,  from  these  provisions.     Dow-  Dowry  a  provision 

■*•  .    .  -  ,  for  widowhood 

ry   is  frequently  understood  as  a  provision  for  the 
woman  in  case  of  widowhood  (or  divorce).     Dotal  pro- 
perty, as  we  have  seen,  is  usually  administered  by  the 
husband  during  his  lifetime;  but  at  his  death  it  may 
become  the   separate    property    of  the  widow  or  it 
may  revert  with  her  to  her  family.      The  right  to  it 
may  also  be  inherited,  together  with  the  right  to  her 
person,  by  the  heirs  of  her  deceased  husband.      Un-  possession  or 
der   the  system   of  marital  administration  and  usu-  regained ^"^"^^"^^ 
fruct,  the  widow  generally  regains  possession  of  what 
other  kinds  of  property  she  may  have  acquired.     She  inheritance  of  hus- 
may    also    succeed    to    the   whole    (in    the    absence 
of  offspring)   or  only  a  part   of  her  deceased  hus- 
band's  property.      In   the   latter   case    the    part   to 
which  she  is  entitled  may  be  agreed  upon  between  Marriage  settie- 

.  1  .  .  ,  1  1-    1        1     ments;  legal  portion 

the  parties  at  her  marriage  or  it  may  be  estabhshed 
by  custom  or  law.  It  may  consist  of  certain  kinds 
of  property  or  be  a  fixed  proportion  of  the  estate  of 
the  deceased.  In  these  cases,  the  widow  may  come 
into  absolute  ownership  or  may  only  have  the  usu- 
fruct of  the  property  during  her  lifetime  or  until 
her  re-marriage. 

In  the  case  of  the  death  of  the  wife,  the  husband  Disposition  of 

•     1  -^       11  ^       c    ^  1  property  of 

may  inherit  all  or  a  part  01  her  property,  or  he  may  deceased  wife 
have  the  usufruct  of  all  or  a  part  of  it  during  his  life- 
time only,  or  all  or  a  part  of    it  may  be  inherited  by 
her  kinsfolk  or  children. 

_-,.  ,  1  1  •  •  Intestate  succes* 

inese  rules  may  apply  only  to  intestate  succession  sion  and  testa- 
mentary disposition 


2  28  The  r^amily 

or  they  may  be  binding  upon  testamentary  disposition 
(legal  portion,  dower,  etc.)  as  well. 
Existence  of  Xhc   exIstencc    of   offspring   or   of  near   relatives 

offspring  and  near  ,  „  ,  .  .  .     , 

relatives  commottly  atiects  the  proportion   ot  the  matnmonial 

property  inherited  by  the  survivor.  It  may  also  de- 
termine whether  or  not  the  property  is  to  be  held  in 
usufruct  or  in  ownership. 

Dissolution  and  Where  matrimonial  property  is  held  in  community, 

continuation     of  i  .  i  .  .  .  ^  .  . 

community  the  community  may    be   contmued  at   the  death    ot 

either  married  person,  the  offspring  representing  the 
deceased,  or  the  community  may  be  dissolved,  the 
survivor  regaining  possession  of  his  or  her  share. 
The  survivor  may  or  may  not  have  the  usufruct  of 
the  remaining  share  during  his  or  her  lifetime. 

Position  of  women       Closcly  related  to  the  economic  position  of  women 

in  juridical  system     ...  ....  ...  .  /.     .  ,  , 

is  their  position  in  the  administration  ot  justice  and 
in  the  government.  Where  their  economic  subordi- 
nation is  pronounced,  they  are,  as  a  rule,  not  allowed 
to  act  as  principals  or  witnesses  in  courts  of  justice, 
or  allowed  to  appear  only  under  special  circum- 
stances. Their  evidence  may  be  valued  as  only  a 
fraction  of  that  of  a  man's.  Composition  for  their 
murder  or  for  injuries  received  by  them  may  be  less 
than  that  of  men  under  like  circumstances.  Fre- 
quently husbands  are  responsible  for  their  wives' 
debts  or  fines.  Wives  may  also  have  to  share  in  the 
punishments  meted  out  to  their  husbands.  Their 
capacity  to  enter  into  contracts  is  in  general  limited 
by  their  economic  dependence. 
Exclusion  ofwomen       Womeu  are  commonly  excluded  from  any  share  in 

from  government  ,  r>  ^'  xi  i  i 

government.  Sometimes  the  older  women  are  given 
a  voice  in  the  tribal  council  or  are  allowed  to  attend 
its  meetings  without  a  voice  ;  but  except  where  ruler- 


Economic  Relations  229 

ship  is  hereditary,  cases  of  gynocracy  (government  by  oynocracy 
women)    are    rare.      In    modern    civilisations,   minor 
government  positions  are  sometimes  held  by  women.  Modem  female 
and  in  some  localities  women  have  a  limited,  or  even  ^"  ^^^^ 
in  some  cases  unlimited,  suffrage. 

The  position  held  by  wives  has  generally  and  to  a  Relation    between 

.  11111  1  status  of  wife    and 

great  extent  a  bearing  upon  that  held  by  mothers,  status  of  mother 
and  vz'ce  versa.  In  concubinage,  for  example,  the 
children  of  an  inferior  are  often  imputed  to  the 
superior  wife,  and  the  natural  mother  may  not  be 
respected  by  her  children.  The  subordination  of 
the  wife  is  not  infrequently  followed  by  that  of  the 
mother,  on  the  decease  of  the  father,  to  her  adult 
sons.  Again,  where  wives  are  excluded  from  the 
occupations  of  their  husbands  (and  in  almost  all  socie- 
ties, as  we  have  seen,  there  is  a  marked  segregation 
of  the  sexes),  sons  are  separated  from  their  mothers 
at  an  early  age.  The  custom  even  exists  of  forbid- 
ding adult  sons  to  approach  their  mothers.  We  have 
already  seen  that  wives  who  have  borne  children  may 
outrank  childless  wives,  or  may  not  be  repudiated  by 
their  husbands.  Similarly,  slave-concubines  who  are 
the  mothers  of  their  master's  children  may  not,  in 
some  cases,  be  sold  by  their  master,  and  at  the  lat- 
ter's  death  they  may  be  accounted  free,  or  they  may 
even  become  free  as  soon  as  they  have  given  birth  to 
a  child.  All  classes  of  widows  with  children  are, 
as  a  rule,  more  Independent  than  childless  widows. 
Facts  about  the  desirability  of  offspring  should  always 
be  noted  in  a  study  of  the  status  of  mother  and  wife. 
In  the  following  lecture  we  shall  consider  facts 
about  the  relationship  of  offspring  to  both  parents 
based  on  the  reckoning  of  descent. 


230  The  Family 

NOTE  A 

Slavery  a  Substitute  for  Wife  Labor. 

Niebohr,  Slavery  as  an  Industrial  System,  pp.  391-396. 

The  Wife  a  Chattel. 

Wilutzky,  Vorgeschichte  des  Rechts,   i.,  216-241. 
The  Economic  Value  of  the  Leisure-Class  Wife. 

Veblen,  The  Theory  of  the  Leisure  Class,  New  York  and 
London,  1899,  chap.  iv. 

Property  Holding  in  Marriage. 

Post,  Familienrechts,  pp.  291-315. 
Systems  of  Individual  Matrimonial  Property. 

Loeb,  The  Legal  Property  Relations  of  Married  Parties, 
New  York,  1900,  pp.  95-153- 
Systems  of  Community  of  Matrimonial  Property. 

Loeb,  Ibid.,  pp.  63-91. 

NOTE  B 

Factors  Influencing  the  Status  of  Wives. 

Marital  power  is  greater  where  descent  is  patronymic  than 
where  it  is  matronymic.  Steinmetz,  Ethnologische  Studien, 
etc.,  ii.,  chap.  vii. 

Where  woman  is  important  as  a  food  provider  her  general 
social  position  is  improved.  Grosse,  Die  Formen  der  Familie 
und  die  Formen  der  Wirthschaft,  p.  243. 

Agricultural  habits  have  a  favourable  effect  upon  position 
of  the  women  cultivators  of  the  soil.  Likewise  women's 
dangerous  supernatural  powers  and  children's  afifection  for 
their  mother.  Westermarck,  Wo?nen  in  Early  Civilisation, 
in  The  American  Journal  of  Sociology,  Nov.,  1904,  pp.  419-421. 

Wives'  subjection  due  to  men's  instinctive  desire  to  exert 
power  and  to  natural  inferiority  of  women  in  qualities  of 
body  and  mind  essential  to  personal  independence.  In  the 
sexual  impulse  itself  are  elements  leading  to  male  domination 
and  female  submission.  The  exclusion  of  women  from  cul- 
tural activities,  and  the  strengthening  of  the  patriarchate 
on   the  dissolution   of  the  clan   also  factors  of  subjection. 


Economic  Relations  231 

Westermarck,    The   Origin  and  Developtnent  of  the  Moral 
Ideas^  pp.  657-669. 

NOTE  C 

Study  the  division  of  functions  among  wives  in  polygyny 
(concubinage).  Make  a  comparative  study:  (i)  of  economic 
position  and  {a)  juristic,  {b)  political  disabilities  of  women,  (2) 
in  a  certain  number  of  groups,  of  rights  of  daughters,  wives,  and 
mothers  in  order  to  determine  the  relations  between  paternal  and 
marital  power  and  between  status  of  wife  and  of  mother,  (3)  of 
desirability  of  offspring  and  status  of  wife. 

NOTE  D 

Yahgan : 

Hunting  practised  exclusively  by  men  and  fishing  by  women. 
X.,  Z2)^-  Only  the  men  build  the  huts  of  tree  trunks  and 
branches,  x.,  337.  Fishing,  preparation  of  foods,  and  manage- 
ment in  general  of  the  boats  carried  on  by  the  women,  x., 
332. 

Surviving  husband  or  wife  inherits,  x.,  334.  After  father's 
death  mother  has  right  to  dispose  of  daughter,  vii.,  172. 

Central  Australians  : 

If  there  be  no  lack  of  food,  men  and  women  all  lounge  about 
while  children  laugh  and  play.  If  food  be  required,  then  women 
will  go  out  accompanied  by  children  and  armed  with  digging 
sticks  zxidpitchis,  and  the  day  will  be  spent  out  in  the  bush  in 
search  of  small  burrowing  animals,  such  as  lizards  and  small 
marsupials.  Men  will  perhaps  set  off  armed  with  spears,  spear- 
throwers,  boomerangs,  and  shields  in  search  of  larger  game,  such 
as  emus  and  kangaroos,  p.  19.  Women  are  certainly  not  treated 
usually  with  anything  which  could  be  called  excessive  harshness. 
They  have  to  do  a  considerable  part,  but  by  no  means  all,  of  the 
work  in  camp,  but  after  all  in  a  good  season  this  does  not 
amount  to  very  much,  and  in  a  bad  season  men  and  women 
suffer  alike,  and  of  what  food  there  is  they  get  their  share. 
P-  50- 
Point  Barrow  Eskimo  : 

A  woman  sews,  prepares  skins  for  making  and  mending,  cooks, 
and  cares  in  general  for  provisions.    Occasionally  sent  out  on  the 


232  The  Family 

ice  for  a  seal  which  her  husband  has  taken.  In  spring  and 
summer  takes  her  place  in  the  boat  if  required,  p.  414. 

A  woman's  property,  consisting  of  beads  and  other  ornaments, 
needle  case,  knife,  etc.,  is  considered  her  own.  p.  414. 

A  widow  has  no  share  in  her  husband's  property;  she  takes 
only  what  she  has  brought  with  her.    p.  414. 

Behring  Strait  Eskimo  : 

Sons  inherit  hunting  implements;  wife  and  daughters,  ornaments 
and  household  articles,  p.  307. 

Central  Eskimo  : 

A  man  must  provide  for  his  family  by  hunting,  i.e.,  for  his  wife 
and  children  and  for  his  relatives  who  have  no  provider.  He 
must  drive  the  sledge  in  travelling,  feed  the  dogs,  build  the 
house,  and  make  and  keep  in  order  his  hunting  implements,  the 
boat  covers  and  seal  floats  excepted.  The  woman  has  to  do 
household  work,  sewing,  and  cooking.  Must  look  after  lamps, 
make  and  mend  tent  and  boat  covers,  prepare  skins,  bring  up 
young  dogs,  make  the  inner  outfit  of  the  hut,  smooth  the  plat- 
forms, line  the  snow  houses,  etc.,  and  do  the  rowing  in  the  large 
boats  while  the  men  steer,  pp.  579-580.  In  travelling  by  sledge, 
men  drive  the  dogs  and  women  lead  the  way.    p.  575. 

Melanesians  : 

The  widows  of  a  man's  maternal  uncles,  brothers,  cousins,  tend 
to  accumulate  around  him.  Called  his  wives,  live  in  houses 
around  him,  work  for  him,  but  he  practically  lives  with  two  or 
three  younger  women  whom  he  has  taken  for  himself,  p.  245. 
Lepers' Isl.:  If  a  distant  cousin  of  deceased  husband  wishes  to 
have  the  widow,  he  adds  a  pig  to  the  death  feast  of  the  tenth  or 
fiftieth  day.  If  two  kinsmen  contend  for  a  widow,  she  selects 
one,  who  gives  a  pig  to  the  other,  p.  244. 

Lepers'  Isl.:  Women  do  not  succeed  to  land,  but  have  a  right 
to  a  share  in  produce  of  father's  garden,  which  their  brothers  are 
considered  to  hold  partly  for  them.  Banks'  Isls. :  Daughters 
inherit  land  of  right  equally  with  sons,  but  in  fact  they  rather 
transmit  inheritance  to  their  children,  pp.  67,  64  footnote. 


Economic  Relations  233 

Ewe-Speaking  Peoples  : 

Wives  inherited  by  a  man's  heir.  pp.  205-206.  In  Dahomi  a 
number  of  king's  wives  killed  or  kill  themselves  at  his  death,  pp. 
124,  127,  128. 

Each  wife  has  her  separate  dwelling  in  enclosure  where  her 
husband's  house  stands.  Wife's  property  separate  from  husband's. 
Woman's  dowry  slave  girls  live  with  her.  The  children  of  a  con- 
cubinous  union  of  these  slaves  and  her  husband  belong  to  her. 
p.  205.  [Condition  of  a  concubine  is  but  little  inferior  to  that  of 
third,  fourth,  and  later  wives.] 

If  a  concubine  bear  a  child,  she  cannot  be  sold.  pp.  204,  205. 

Tshi-Speaking  Peoples  : 

Instance  in  1873  of  a  chief  called  upon  to  share  in  defraying 
expenses  of  a  disastrous  war,  selling  his  wife.  p.  272. 

Favourite  wives  of  chiefs  killed  at  his  death  to  attend  him 
beyond  the  grave,  pp.  158,  159,162,166.  Usually  widows  remain 
in  the  house  watching  the  grave  for  some  weeks,  neglecting  their 
persons  and  fasting.  Some  months  after  death  widow  sacrifices 
to  family  god,  and  considered  extremely  unfortunate  for  her  to 
have  sexual  intercourse  before  performing  this  rite.  The  man  is 
believed  to  inevitably  fall  a  victim  to  the  wrath  of  deceased 
husband,  pp.  238-242. 

Yoruba-Speaking  Peoples  : 

Customary  when  a  chief  dies  for  two  of  his  wives  to  commit 
suicide,  or,  if  no  volunteers  appear,  for  two  to  be  put  to  death.  In 
1859,  42  wives  of  deceased  King  of  Oyo  poisoned  themselves  in 
order  to  accompany  him  to  Dead-Land.  pp.  105,  104.  Wives 
and  concubines  inherited  by  a  man's  sons.  At  present  head-wife 
usually  goes  to  live  with  husband's  relations.  Should  she  marry 
any  one  but  a  brother-in-law,  second  husband  would  have  t<^  pay 
to  relatives  of  first  original  bride-price,   pp.  185-186. 

Each  wife  has  her  house  in  the  husband's  compound  ;  each 
her  own  slaves  and  dependants,  p.  182.  Wife's  property  inde- 
pendent of  husband's,  p.  177. 

A  man  is  responsible  for  his  wife's  debts,  p.  190. 
Thompson  River  Indians  : 

Married  women  had  to  do  almost  all  housework.  Some  men 
helped  their  wives  in  tanning  of  buckskin,  putting  up  of  lodges, 


234  The  Family 

I 

etc.,  and  often  manufactured  articles  for  them,  such  as  root-dig- 
gers, etc.  Considered  woman's  duty  to  gather  and  carry  all  fire- 
wood ;  erect  lodges,  keep  them  clean  inside  and  light  the  fire  ; 
gather  and  carry  brush  for  beds;  make  all  kinds  of  mats,  baskets, 
sacks  and  bags,  as  well  as  all  clothing,  including  moccasins;  wash 
and  cook  ;  dig  and  cure  or  cook  roots  and  gather  and  cure  ber- 
ries ;  help  to  clean  and  dry  fish,  to  carry  meat  or  game  shot,  and 
to  look  after  the  horses  ;  dress  all  skins  for  clothing,  etc.;  fetch 
water,  pp.  295-296.  Considered  man's  duty  to  hunt,  to  trap,  to 
fish,  to  snare,  to  fight,  to  make  all  tools  and  weapons,  to  fell  trees, 
to  help  look  after  hunting  dogs,  to  be  energetic,  p.  295. 

A  widow  became  the  property  of  a  deceased  husband's  nearest 
male  kin,  generally  of  brother  next  in  seniority.  Right  of  a 
man  to  widow  of  his  deceased  brother  incontestable,  and  widow 
had  equal  right  to  demand  from  him  privileges  of  a  husband, 
and  he  was  bound  to  support  her  children.  If  a  man  took  to  wife 
the  sister-in-law  of  a  man  without  his  consent,  generally  killed, 
often  woman  too,  by  wronged  individual,  p.  325.  Sometimes  a 
widow  wore  a  breech-cloth  made  of  dry  bunch  grass  for  several 
days  that  ghost  of  husband  should  not  have  connection  with  her. 
P-  333- 

A  woman's  effects  looked  upon  as  distinct  from  husband's.  A 
man  and  his  wife  often  made  gifts  of  their  individual  property  to 
each  other,  p.  293.  If  a  couple  separated,  wife  took  all  her 
property  with  her,  even  roots  and  berries  she  had  gathered,  p.  293. 

Widow  or  female  children  inherited  all  kettles,  baskets,  cook- 
ing utensils,  and  some  blankets  and  robes.  Males  always  inher- 
ited canoes  and  all  fishing,  hunting,  and  trapping  utensils.  Those 
dogs  of  the  deceased  that  were  not  killed  became  property  of  male 
children.  Horses  divided  among  all  the  children  both  male  and 
female  ;  former,  however,  taking  twice  as  many  as  latter,  or  at 
least  having  first  choice.  Daughters  supposed  by  some  to  inherit 
a  deceased  father's  horses  in  preference  to  all  male  relatives, 
excepting  their  brothers,  p.  294. 

When  a  captive  woman  bore  children  to  her  master  she  was 
considered  one  of  the  tribe,  and  neither  she  nor  her  children  ever 
afterward  called  slaves,  at  least  openly,  p.  290.  If  a  widow  had 
children,  she  inherited  lodge  of  her  deceased  husband,  and  it 
belonged  to  her  and  her  children,  p.  294. 


Economic  Relations  235 


Kabyles 


Ait  All  ou  Illoul.  Men  who  exchange  their  wives  each  pay  lo 
reals  fine  and  bargain  is  void,  iii.,  427.  Akbil,  etc.  If  a  hus- 
band whose  wife  has  gone  to  her  parents  without  his  permission 
sells  her  to  another  husband,  fined  20  reals,  iii.,  365. 

Father  generally  stipulates  for  a  gift  of  clothes  and  jewelry 
from  groom  to  bride.  He  may  give  these  things  himself  to  bride. 
These  gifts,  {edak,  sometimes  become  property  of  woman.  Some- 
times she  may  not  dispose  of  them,  but  at  her  death  they  go  to 
her  husband  or  are  returned  to  her  family.  Her  relatives  some- 
times even  have  right  to  take  them  back  in  her  lifetime,  ii.,  162-163. 
Ait  Fraou^en.  A  woman  may  take  nothing  with  her  to  her  hus- 
band's house  except  what  her  relatives  have  given  her.  She  may 
not  bequeath  this  dowry  at  death.  It  returns  to  her  relatives. 
She  may  bequeath  only  her  clothes,  iii.,  389.  Ait  Bou  Chen- 
nacha.  He  who  in  marrying  his  daughter  or  sister  gives  her 
jewels  which  she  carries  with  her  to  her  husband's  house  may 
take  them  back  whenever  he  please,  unless  he  have  relinquished 
his  claim  to  them  before  witnesses,  iii.,  353.  Ait  Izerfaoen,  etc. 
A  woman  has  no  claim  to  any  part  of  the  thdmamih.  Her  hus- 
band gives  her  what  he  pleases  in  garments.  A  widow  may  re- 
main in  house  of  her  deceased  husband  if  she  marry  one  of  his  near 
relatives.  She  may  not  remain  if  she  marry  a  stranger.  If  a 
widow  have  only  daughters,  village  council  divides  property  of 
deceased  in  two  parts,  one  for  support  of  widow  and  daughters, 
one  for  heirs.  When  widow's  daughters  marry  she  receives  a 
third  of  the  ihdmamth,  father's  heirs  two-thirds,  iii.,  410.  Ait 
Khalifa.  A  married  woman  may  not  claim  thdmamth  from  those 
who  have  given  her  in  marriage.  She  may  not  appoint  a  person 
to  receive  thdtnamth.  It  is  always  her  near  relatives,  iii.,  401. 
Ait  Iraten.  If  there  is  no  male  relative  in  second  degree,  and 
girl's  mother  is  living,  thdmamth  divided  into  three  parts,  two  go 
to  nearest  agnate,  and  third  divided  between  girl  and  mother. 
If  mother  has  died  or  remarried,  the  third  goes  entirely  to  girl. 
If  there  is  no  male  relative  it  is  divided  between  the  two  women, 
and  if  the  mother  has  died  or  remarried,  girl  receives  whole,  ii., 
155.  Cheurfa,  etc.  An  unmarried  woman  may  leave  her  pro- 
perty to  her  relatives;  a  married  woman  may  not;  her  husband 
disposes  of  it.    iii.,    329.       If   relative   or   representative   of   a 


•J 


6  The  Family 


widow  wishes  to  marry  her  and  she  refuses,  he  has  a  right  only 
to  20  reals,  to  be  levied  on  property  of  her  orphaned  child.  If  a 
widow  marry  a  relative  of  her  husband  and  he  fail  to  make  her 
happy,  she  has  the  right  to  go  and  live  with  her  son  by  her  first 
husband,  iii.,  342.  A  widow  with  sons  cannot  be  ejected  from 
house  of  deceased  husband  ;  but  she  should  do  nothing  without 
consulting  his  relatives,  iii.,  390.  Akbil,  etc.  A  widow  is  en- 
titled to  carry  away  with  her  linen  and  cotton  garments,  the  ear- 
rings, head  ornaments,  and  jewels  given  her  by  her  husband,  and 
what  she  has  received  from  her  parents.  Anyone  attempting  to 
deprive  her  of  these  things  is  fined  5  reals.  A  man's  widow, 
daughters,  sisters,  are  entitled  to  live  in  house  of  deceased  and 
to  enjoy  during  their  lifetime  a  third  of  his  property.  If  they 
can  manage  it  themselves  they  are  free  to  do  so  ;  if  not,  they  are  to 
choose  themselves  the  relatives  who  are  to  manage  it  for  them, 
iii.,  336.  louadhien.  A  widow  has  the  right  to  remain  in  house 
of  deceased  husband.  Anyone  ejecting  her  to  be  fined  20  reals. 
Anyone  who  buys  anything  from  a  widow  with  young  children 
who  cannot  make  a  bargain  without  consent  of  their  near  rela- 
tives, will  not  receive  back  what  he  has  paid  when  his  purchase 
has  been  taken  away  from  him,  unless  the  near  relatives  have  con- 
sented to  sale.  If  near  relative  of  deceased  husband  fail  to  pro- 
vide for  needs  of  his  widow,  she  is  to  complain  to  village  council, 
iii.,  342.  Ait  Aissa.  When  a  woman  is  widowed  or  divorced, 
she  returns  to  her  father  or  his  heirs  and  is  supported  by  them, 
iii.,  405.  A  man  may  bequeath  to  a  wife,  daughter,  sister,  aunt,  a 
life  interest  in  his  property  equal  to  that  to  which  a  woman  is  en- 
titled, according  to  Moslem  law.  He  may  not  exceed  that 
amount.  A  woman  may  dispose  of  income  of  property  so  in- 
herited as  she  wish,  but  she  may  not  sell  the  capital,  iii.,  379. 
Alt  Ousammer.  He  who  proposes  to  give  a  woman  a  share  in 
the  inheritance,  fined  50  reals,  iii.,  378. 

Cheurfa,  etc.  If  a  woman  accidentally  set  fire  to  a  house,  her 
husband  must  pay  damages,  unless  he  divorce  her.  iii.,  438.  If 
a  married  woman  living  with  her  husband  is  fined,  husband  pays. 
If  she  live  with  her  parents,  they  pay.  iii.,  368.  Confederation 
of  Alt  R'Oubri.  A  woman  can  neither  buy  nor  sell ;  one  of  her 
near  relatives,  or  if  she  has  none,  wisest  man  in  the  kharouba, 
must  always  act  for  her.   iii.,  415.     Ait  Ameur,  etc.     If  a  woman 


Economic  Relations  237 

buys  something  with  her  own  money,  no  one  may  take  it  away 
from  her.  iii.,  394. 

Ancient  Arabs: 

Those  of  you  who  die  and  leave  wives,  should  bequeath  to 
them  maintenance  for  a  year,  without  expulsion  from  their  home  ; 
but  if  they  go  out,  there  is  no  crime  in  you  for  what  they  do  of 
themselves,  in  reason,  ii,,  241-242. 

And  ye  shall  have  half  of  what  your  wives  leave,  if  they  have 
no  son  ;  but  if  they  have  a  son,  then  a  fourth  of  what  they  leave, 
after  payment  of  bequests  or  of  debts.  And  they  shall  have  a 
fourth  of  what  ye  leave,  if  ye  have  no  son,  but  if  ye  have  a  son, 
then  let  them  have  an  eighth  of  what  ye  leave,  after  payment  of 
bequests  and  of  debts,  iv.,  14.  If  a  man  perish  and  have  no 
child,  but  have  a  sister,  let  her  have  half  of  what  he  leaves  ;  and 
he  shall  be  her  heir,  if  she  have  no  son.  But  if  there  be  two 
sisters,  let  them  both  have  two-thirds  of  what  he  leaves  ;  and  if 
there  be  brethren,  both  men  and  women,  let  the  male  have  the 
like  portion  of  two  females.  God  makes  this  manifest  to  you  lest 
ye  err;  for  God  all  things  doth  know,  iv.,  176.;  also  iv.,  15. 
Women  should  have  a  portion  of  what  their  parents  and  kindred 
leave,  whether  it  be  little  or  much,  a  determined  portion.  God 
instructs  you  concerning  your  children  ;  for  a  male  the  like  of 
the  portion  of  two  females,  and  if  there  be  women  above  two, 
then  let  them  have  two-thirds  of  what  the  deceased  leaves  ;  and 
if  there  be  but  one,  then  let  her  have  a  half ;  and  as  to  the 
parents,  to  each  of  them  a  sixth  of  what  he  leaves,  if  he  have  a 
son  ;  but  if  he  have  no  son,  and  his  parents  inherit,  then  let  his 
mother  have  a  third,  and  if  he  have  brethren,  let  his  mother  have 
a  sixth  after  payment  of  the  bequest  he  bequeaths  and  of  his 
debt,  iv.,  11-12. 

Ancient  Hebrews  : 

When  a  man  hath  taken  a  new  wife  he  shall  not  go  out  to  war, 
neither  shall  he  be  charged  with  any  business:  but  he  shall  be 
free  at  home  one  year,  and  shall  cheer  up  his  wife  which  he  hath 
taken.  Deut.  xxiv,,  5.  Naomi,  widow  of  Elimelech,  inherited 
his  land.  His  sons  had  died,  but  he  left  male  kinsmen.  Naomi 
also  came  into  her  son's  lands.     Ruth  iv.,  3,  9. 


238  The  Family 

Babylonians  : 

If  a  woman,  who  dwells  in  the  house  of  a  man,  make  a  contract 
with  her  husband  that  a  creditor  of  his  may  not  hold  her  (for 
his  debts)  and  compel  him  to  deliver  a  written  agreement  ;  if 
that  man  were  in  debt  before  he  took  that  woman,  his  creditor 
may  not  hold  his  wife,  and  if  that  woman  were  in  debt  before  she 
entered  into  the  house  of  the  man,  her  creditor  may  not  hold  her 
husband.  §  151.  If  they  contract  a  debt  after  the  woman  has 
entered  into  the  h-ouse  of  the  man,  both  of  them  shall  be  answerable 
to  the  merchant.  §  152. 

If  an  officer  or  a  constable,  who  is  in  a  fortress  of  the  king,  be 
captured  (and)  his  son  be  able  to  conduct  the  business,  they 
shall  give  to  him  the  field  and  garden  and  he  shall  conduct  the 
business  of  his  father.  §  28.  If  his  son  be  too  young,  they  shall 
give  one-third  of  the  field  and  of  the  garden,  to  his  mother,  and 
his  mother  shall  rear  him.  §  29.  He  may  deed  to  his  wife  or 
daughter  the  field,  garden,  or  house  which  he  has  purchased  and 
(hence)  possesses,  or  he  may  assign  them  for  debt.  §  39. 

If  a  man  give  to  his  wife  field,  garden,  house,  or  goods  and  he 
deliver  to  her  a  sealed  deed,  after  (the  death  of)  her  husband, 
her  children  cannot  make  claim  against  her.  The  mother  after 
(death)  may  will  to  her  child  whom  slie  loves,  but  to  a  brother 
she  may  not.  §  150.  The  wife  shall  receive  her  dowry  and  the 
gift  which  her  husband  gave  and  deeded  to  her  on  a  tablet  and 
she  may  dwell  in  the  house  of  her  husband  and  enjoy  (the  pro- 
perty) as  long  as  she  lives.  She  cannot  sell  it,  however,  for  after 
her  (death)  it  belongs  to  her  children.  §  171.  If  her  husband 
have  not  given  her  a  gift,  they  shall  make  good  her  dowry  and  she 
shall  receive  from  the  goods  of  her  husband's  house  a  portion  cor- 
responding to  that  of  a  son.  If  her  children  scheme  to  drive  her 
out  of  the  house,  the  judges  shall  inquire  into  her  antecedents,  and 
if  the  children  be  in  the  wrong,  she  shall  not  go  out  from  her  hus- 
band's house.  If  slie  set  her  face  to  go  out,  she  shall  leave  to  her 
children  the  gift  which  her  husband  gave  her  ;  she  shall  receive 
the  dowry  of  her  father's  house,  and  the  husband  of  her  choice 
may  take  her.  §  172.  If  she  bear  children  to  her  later  husband 
and  later  on  she  die,  the  former  and  the  later  children  shall 
divide  her  dowry.  §  173.  If  she  do  not  bear  children  to  her 
later  husband,  the  children  of  the  first  husband  shall  receive  her 


Economic  Relations  239 

dowry.  §  174.  If  a  man  take  a  wife  and  she  bear  him  children 
and  that  woman  die,  her  father  may  not  lay  claim  to  her  dowry. 
Her  dowry  belongs  to  her  children.  §  162.  And  if  a  slave  of  the 
palace  or  of  a  freeman  take  the  daughter  of  a  man  (gentleman), 
and  if  she  enter  into  the  house  of  the  slave  with  the  dowry  of  her 
father's  house  ;  if  from  the  time  that  they  join  hands,  they  build 
a  house  and  acquire  property  ;  and  if  later  on  the  slave  die,  the 
daughter  of  the  man  shall  receive  her  dowry,  and  they  shall  divide 
into  two  parts  whatever  her  husband  and  she  had  acquired  from 
the  time  they  had  joined  hands;  the  owner  of  the  slave  shall  re- 
ceive one-half  and  the  daughter  of  the  man  shall  receive  one-half 
for  her  children.  §  176.  If  she  had  no  dowry,  they  shall  divide 
into  two  parts  whatever  her  husband  and  she  had  acquired  fTom 
the  time  they  joined  hands.  The  owner  of  the  slave  shall  receive 
one-half  and  the  daughter  of  the  man  shall  receive  one-half  for 
her  children.  §  176 A.  If  a  widow,  whose  children  are  minors, 
set  her  face  to  enter  another  house,  she  cannot  do  so  without  the 
consent  of  the  judges.  When  she  enters  another  house,  the  judges 
shall  inquire  into  the  estate  of  her  former  husband,  and  they  shall 
intrust  the  estate  of  her  former  husband  to  the  later  husband  and 
that  woman,  and  they  shall  deliver  to  them  a  tablet  (to  sign). 
They  shall  administer  the  estate  and  rear  the  minors.  They  may 
not  sell  the  household  goods.  He  who  purchases  household  goods 
belonging  to  the  sons  of  a  widow  shall  forfeit  his  money.  The 
goods  shall  revert  to  their  owner.  §  177. 

Ancient  Hindus  : 

Let  the  husband  employ  his  wife  in  the  collection  and  expendi- 
ture of  his  wealth,  in  keeping  everything  clean,  in  the  fulfilment 
of  religious  duties,  in  the  preparation  of  his  food,  and  in  looking 
after  the  household  utensils.  By  these  expedients  she  may  be 
guarded  when  she  cannot  be  completely  so  by  force,  ix.,  10,  11. 
A  husband  who  has  business  abroad  may  depart  after  securing  a 
maintenance  for  his  wife  ;  for  a  wife,  even  though  virtuous,  may 
be  corrupted  if  she  be  distressed  by  want  of  subsistence.  If  the 
husband  depart  without  providing  for  her  she  may  subsist  by 
blameless  manual  work,     ix.,  74,  75. 

A  wife,  a  son,  and  a  slave,  these  three  are  declared  to  have  no 
property  ;  the  wealth  which  they  earn  is  acquired  for  him  to 
whom  they  belong,     viii.,  416. 


240  The  Family 

Selling  one's  wife  a  minor  offence,  causing  loss  of  caste,  xi., 
62,  67. 

A  second  husband  is  never  prescribed  for  virtuous  women. 
They  must  never  even  mention  the  name  of  another  man  after 
husband's  death,     v.,  167. 

Whatever  may  be  the  separate  property  of  the  mother,  that  is 
the  share  of  the  unmarried  daughter  alone,  ix.,  131.  All  the 
uterine  brothers  and  sisters  shall  equally  divide  the  mother's  estate, 
even  if  mother  die  in  husband's  lifetime.  Even  to  the  daughters 
something  of  this  estate  should  be  given  on  the  score  of  affection, 
ix.,  192-193,  195.     See  ix.,  198. 

What  was  given  before  the  nuptial  fire,  on  the  bridal  proces- 
sioil,  in  token  of  love,  and  what  was  received  from  her  brother, 
mother,  or  father  is  called  the  sixfold  property  of  a  woman. 
Such  property,  as  well  as  subsequent  gift  and  what  was  given 
her  by  her  affectionate  husband,  is  inherited  directly  by  her 
children.  The  property  of  a  woman  married  according  to 
Brahma,  Daiva,  Arsha,  Gandharva,  Pragapatya  rites  shall  go  to 
her  husband  alone  if  she  die  without  issue  ;  that  of  a  woman 
married  according  to  Asura  or  one  of  the  other  blamable  mar- 
riages shall  go  to  her  mother  and  father.  Wives  should  never 
make  a  hoard  from  their  husband's  particular  property  without 
permission,     ix.,  194-199. 

Let  not  a  man  eat  in  the  company  of  his  wife,  nor  look  at  her 
while  she  eats,  sneezes,  yawns,  or  sits  at  her  ease,     iv.,  43. 

Male  relations  who  in  their  folly  live  on  the  separate  property - 
of  women,  beasts  of  burden,  carriages,  and  clothes,  commit  sin 
and  will  sink  into  hell,     iii.,  52. 

Ancient  Chinese: 

In  presenting  a  daughter  for  the  harem  of  the  son  of  Heaven 
it  is  said:  "This  is  to  complete  the  providers  of  sons  for  you  "  ; 
for  that  of  tlie  ruler  of  a  state:  "  This  is  to  complete  the  pro- 
viders of  your  spirits  and  sauces";  for  that  of  a  great  officer: 
*'  This  is  to  complete  the  number  of  those  who  sprinkle  and 
sweep  for  you."  xxvii.,  119.  The  son  of  Heaven  and  the  princes 
of  the  states  guided  the  plough  to  provide  grain  for  the  sacri- 
ficial vessels,  and  their  wives  looked  after  their  silkworms  to 
provide  the  cap  and  robes  of  silk.     This  was  not  because  the 


Economic  Relations  241 

son  of  Heaven  and  the  princes  had  not  men  to  plough  for  them, 
or  because  the  queen  and  the  princes'  wives  had  not  women  to 
tend  the  silkworms  for  them  ;  it  was  to  give  the  exhibition  of 
their  personal  sincerity,  xxviii.,  239,  The  wife  was  the  fitting 
partner  of  her  husband,  and  could  carry  on  all  the  work  in  silk 
and  linen,  making  cloth  and  silken  fabrics,  and  maintaining  a 
watchful  care  over  the  various  stores  and  depositories  of  the 
household,  xxviii.,  431. 

Khan  Kan-hsi  charged  his  son  to  bury  his  two  concubines  with 
him,  one  on  each  side.  When  he  died,  his  son  said:  "To  bury 
the  living  with  the  dead  is  contrary  to  propriety;  how  much 
more  must  it  be  to  bury  them  in  the  same  coffin."  Accordingly, 
he  did  not  put  the  two  ladies  to  death,  xxvii.,  183,  184. 

When  the  mother  of  Zze-lin  died,  his  younger  brother  Zze-shih 
asked  for  the  means  to  provide  what  was  necessary  for  the 
•  mourning  rites.  Zze-lin  said:  "  How  shall  we  get  them  ? "  "  Let 
us  sell  the  concubines,  the  mothers  of  our  half-brothers,"  said 
the  other.  "  How  can  we  sell  the  mothers  of  other  men  to  bury 
our  mother  ?  "  was  the  reply;  "  that  can  not  be  done."  xxvii.,  145. 
When  the  concubine  of  an  officer  had  a  son,  he  wore  the  three 
months'  mourning  for  her.  If  she  had  no  son,  he  did  not  do  so. 
xxviii.,  47.  The  son  of  an  inferior  member  of  the  harem  can  not 
offer  the  sacrifice  to  his  grandfather  or  father  ;  if,  for  some  rea- 
son, he  have  to  do  so,  he  must  report  it  to  the  honoured  son,  the 
head  of  the  family,  xxvii.,  117.  If  parents  have  a  boy  born  to 
the  father  by  a  handmaid,  or  the  son  or  grandson  of  one  of  his 
concubines  of  whom  they  are  very  fond,  their  sons  should,  after 
their  death,  not  allow  their  regard  for  him  to  decay  so  long  as 
they  live,  xxvii.,  457. 

Ancient  Romans: 

Property  is  acquired  for  us  by  those  in  our  power,  descend- 
ants, slaves,  or  as  being  in  our  marital  power.     G.  ii.,  §  86. 

The  husband  forbidden  to  alienate  dowry  immovables  without 
wife's  consent,  although  they  belong  to  him,  whether  as  a  result 
of  a  formal  conveyance  by  copper  and  scale,  grounded  on  the 
dowry,  or  surrendered  in  court,  or  acquired  by  use  through  the 
statutory  period  of  possession.  G.  ii.,  §  6^.  Alienation  is  for- 
bidden even  with  wife's  consent,  "  Lest  the  weakness  of  the 
16 


242  The  Family 

female  sex  should  be  turned  to  the  detriment  of  her  fortune." 
/.  ii.,  via. 

A  wife  under  marital  power  inherits  because  she  occupies  the 
place  of  a  daughter.  G.  iii.,  §  3.  According  to  Twelve  Tables 
all  agnates  whether  male  or  female  inherited  in  their  turn.  Sub- 
sequently only  females  related  by  consanguinity/.^.,  sisters  in- 
herited. "  It  seemed  expedient  that  inheritances  should  tend 
for  the  most  part  to  get  into  the  hands  of  males."  Under  Justin- 
ian former  provision  re-enacted.  J.  iii.,  //.,  §  2. 

Unlike  husband,  a  wife  cannot  bring  an  action  for  outrage 
committed  on  husband,  *'  for  it  is  just  that  wives  should  be  pro- 
tected by  their  husbands,  but  not  husbands  by  their  wives."  J. 
iv.,  /V.,  §  2 

French  : 

228.  A  wife  cannot  contract  a  second  marriage  until  ten  months 
have  elapsed  since  the  dissolution  of  the  previous  marriage. 

1387.  The  law  only  regulates  conjugal  relations  with  respect  to 
property  when  there  is  no  special  agreement,  but  husband  and 
wife  may  enter  into  any  agreement  they  deem  proper,  provided 
it  is  not  contrary  to  good  morals,  and,  besides,  is  subject  to  fol- 
lowing restrictions.  1388.  A  husband  and  wife  cannot  derogate 
from  the  rights  resulting  from  husband's  marital  powers  over  per- 
son of  wife  and  of  children  or  which  belong  to  husband  as  head 
of  family,  nor  from  rights  conferred  upon  survivor  of  husband 
or  wife  under  title  of  Paternal  Authority  and  title  of  Minority, 
of  Guardianship  and  of  Emancipation,  nor  from  prohibitory  provi- 
sions of  present  Code.  1389.  They  cannot  make  any  agreement 
or  renunciation  of  which  object  would  be  to  change  legal  order 
of  succession,  either  with  respect  to  themselves  in  the  succession 
of  their  children  or  descendants  or  with  respect  to  their  children 
among  themselves. 

1401.  Community  is  composed  :  i.  Of  all  personal  property 
which  husband  and  wife  own  at  time  of  the  celebration  of  mar- 
riage, together  with  all  personal  property  which  comes  to  them 
during  marriage,  either  by  way  of  succession  or  even  donation, 
unless  donor  has  provided  differently.  2.  Of  all  profits,  revenues, 
and  arrears,  of  whatever  nature  they  may  be,  which  may  have 
become  due  or  have  collected  during  marriage  and  coming  from 


Economic  Relations  243 

propyerty  belonging  to  husband  and  wife  at  time  of  celebration  of 
marriage,  or  from  property  which  has  come  to  them  during  mar- 
riage in  whatever  way  it  may  be.  3.  Of  all  real  estate  acquired 
during  marriage.  142 1.  Husband  has  sole  management  of  com- 
munity property.  He  can  sell,  convey,  and  mortgage  it  without 
the  co-operation  of  wife.  1428.  A  husband  has  management  of 
all  individual  property  of  wife.  He  cannot  convey  his  wife's 
individual  real  estate  without  her  consent.  1497.  Husband  and 
wife  may  modify  legal  community,  i.  That  the  community  shall 
only  apply  to  acquests,  2.  That  the  present  or  future  personal 
property  shall  not  fall  into  the  community  or  shall  only  fall  into 
it  in  part.  3.  That  all  or  part  of  the  present  or  future  real  estate 
shall  be  included.  4.  That  the  husband  and  wife  shall  pay  indi- 
vidually the  debts  which  they  had  previous  to  marriage.  5.  That 
in  case  of  renunciation,  wife  shall  be  able  to  take  back  property 
she  has  contributed,  free  of  all  charges.  6.  That  survivor  shall 
have  a  preciput.  7.  That  husband  orwife  shall  have  unequal  shares. 
8.  That  there  shall  exist  between  them  a  universal  community. 
1530.  Clause  providing  that  husband  and  wife  marry  without  com- 
munity does  not  give  wife  right  to  manage  her  property  nor  to 
collect  income  thereof:  such  income  is  supposed  to  go  to  hus- 
band to  settle  household  expenses.  1536,  When  husband  and 
wife  have  stipulated  in  marriage  contract  that  there  would  be  a 
separation  of  property  between  them,  wife  retains  entire  manage- 
ment of  her  personal  property  and  real  estate  and  free  enjoyment 
of  her  income.  1537.  Husband  and  wife  each  contribute  to 
household  expenses  according  to  conditions  contained  in  their 
contract;  and  if  there  is  none  in  relation  thereto,  wife  con- 
tributes to  those  expenses  to  extent  of  one-third  of  income. 
1538.  Wife  cannot  in  any  case,  nor  in  consequence  of  any  agree- 
ment, convey  her  real  estate  without  express  consent  of  husband, 
or  in  case  of  his  refusal,  without  being  authorised  by  the  Court. 
Any  general  consent  given  to  wife  to  convey  her  real  estate,  either 
by  marriage  contract  or  since  then,  is  void.  1540.  Dowry  is  the 
property  which  wife  brings  to  husband  to  bear  household 
expenses. 

1541.  Everything  wife  sets  apart,  or  which  is  given  to  her  by 
marriage  contract,  is  dotal  unless  there  is  an  agreement  to  the 
contrary.     1549.    Husband  has  the  sole  management  of  dotal 


244  The  Family- 

property  during  marriage.  However,  it  may  be  agreed  in  marriage 
contract  that  wife  shall  collect  annually,  for  her  maintenance  and 
personal  wants,  a  part  of  her  income.  1554.  Real  estate  given  as 
dowry  cannot  be  conveyed  or  mortgaged  during  marriage,  either 
by  husband  or  wife,  or  by  both  of  them  jointly,  with  following 
exceptions.  1555.  Wife  may,  with  consent  of  husband,  or  in 
case  of  his  refusal  with  authority  of  the  Court,  give  her  dotal 
property  for  establishment  of  children  whom  she  might  have  of  a 
previous  marriage;  but  if  she  is  only  authorised  by  the  Court, 
she  must  reserve  the  enjoyment  of  such  property  to  her  husband. 
1556.  She  may  also,  with  consent  of  her  husband,  give  her  dotal 
property  for  establishment  of  children  of  the  marriage.  1564. 
If  dowry  consists  in  real  estate,  or  in  personal  property  not 
appraised  in  the  marriage  contract,  or  appraised  with  a  declara- 
tion that  appraisement  does  not  take  away  ownership  from  wife, 
husband  or  his  heirs  may  be  compelled  to  return  it  immediately 
after  dissolution  of  marriage.  1571.  At  dissolution  of  marriage, 
revenue  of  dotal  real  estate  divided  between  husband  and  wife 
or  their  heirs.  1576.  Wife  has  the  management  and  enjoyment 
of  her  paraphernal  property;  but  she  cannot  convey  it  or  appear 
in  court  in  connection  with  same  without  consent  of  husband,  or 
upon  his  refusal  without  the  authorisation  of  Court,  1449.  A 
wife  separated,  either  from  bed  and  board  or  only  as  to  property, 
regains  independent  management  of  her  property.  She  cannot 
dispose  of  her  real  estate  without  consent  of  husband,  or  without 
being  authorised  by  Court  in  case  of  refusal.  1443.  A  separa- 
tion of  property  can  only  be  sued  for  in  court  by  wife  whose 
dowry  is  in  danger,  and  when  husband's  affairs  are  in  such  dis- 
order that  there  is  reason  to  fear  that  his  property  will  not  be 
sufficient  to  answer  for  wife's  rights  and  claims.  All  voluntary 
separations  are  void.  1448.  A  wife  who  has  obtained  a  separation 
of  property  must  contribute  as  well  to  household  expenses  as  to 
those  of  the  education  of  children  of  marriage,  in  proportion  to 
her  means  and  those  of  her  husband.  She  shall  bear  these 
expenses  entirely  if  husband  has  nothing  left. 

215.  A  wife  cannot  sue  in  court  without  consent  of  her  husband, 
even  if  she  is  a  public  tradeswoman  or  if  there  is  no  community 
or  she  is  separated  as  to  property.  216.  Husband's  consent  is 
not  necessary  when  wife  is  prosecuted  criminally  or  in  a  police 


Economic  Relations  245 

matter.  217.  A  wife,  even  when  there  is  no  community,  or  when 
she  is  separated  as  to  property,  cannot  give,  convey,  mortgage,  or 
acquire  property,  with  or  without  consideration,  without  husband 
joining  in  the  instrument,  or  giving  his  written  consent.  218.  If 
a  husband  refuses  to  allow  his  wife  to  sue  in  court,  the  Judge 
may  grant  the  authorisation.  219.  If  a  husband  refuses  to  allow 
his  wife  to  execute  an  instrument,  wife  can  cause  him  to  be  sum- 
moned directly  before  the  Tribunal  of  First  Instance  of  the 
common  domicil,  and  such  Tribunal  shall  grant  or  refuse  its  con- 
sent after  husband  has  been  heard  or  has  been  duly  summoned. 
221.  When  a  sentence  has  been  passed  upon  a  husband  which 
carries  with  it  a  degrading  corporal  punishment,  even  if  it  has 
been  passed  by  default,  a  wife,  even  of  full  age,  cannot,  during 
the  continuance  of  the  punis'nment,  sue  in  court  nor  bind  herself, 
unless  she  has  been  authorised  by  the  Judge,  who  may  in  such 
case  grant  the  consent  without  the  husband  having  been  heard  or 
summoned.  226.  A  wife  can  make  a  will  without  her  husband's 
consent. 

People  of  United  States  : 

Wife's  obligation  to  render  family  services  co-extensive  with 
that  of  husband  to  support,  these  services  and  comfort  of  her 
society  being  legal  equivalent  of  such  support.  §  43. 

Community  system  exists  in  the  south-western  states,  but  there 
is  a  tendency  to  limit  it.  American  community  doctrine  is  that 
all  property  acquired  during  marriage  shall  be  deemed  to  belong 
prima  facie  to  community  unless  proved  to  be  acquired  as 
separate  property.  Also  usually  provided  by  statute  that  gifts, 
bequests,  etc.,  shall  be  separate  property.  §  7. 

Common-law  doctrine  of  legal  non-existence  of  married  women 
came  to  be  superseded  in  the  second  quarter  of  the  nineteenth 
century  by  the  equitable  and  statutory  separate  property  systems. 
The  equitable  doctrine  is  prior  work  of  English  chancery  courts. 
Statutory  doctrine  founded  on  married  women's  acts.  Chap.  vii. 
In  some  of  the  States  presumption  is  still  that  in  absence  of  any 
provision  to  the  contrary  that  a  married  woman's  property  belongs 
to  her  husband.  120a.  According  to  married  women's  codes, 
wife  permitted  to  hold  all  property,  real  and  personal,  which  she 
had  at  time  of  marriage  or  has  acquired  thereafter  from  any 
person  other  than  husband.    §115.     Acts  differ  in  considering 


246  The  Family 

acquisitions  from  husband  as  part  of  wife's  separate  property. 
§  118.  A  married  woman  may  sell,  convey,  give,  bargain,  or 
otherwise  dispose  of  her  separate  property.  Chap.  xi.  In  many 
of  the  States  wives  allowed  benefit  of  their  own  labour  and  services 
when  performed  on  their  separate  account ;  there  is,  however, 
less  favour  shown  by  the  courts  to  the  legislative  grant  of  separate 
earnings  than  to  that  of  acquisitions  to  a  wife's  separate  use  from 
other  sources;  and  still  less  to  statutes  extending  wife's  right 
of  acquiring  earnings  to  permission  to  embark  in  business  on  her 
own  account.  Idea  not  favoured  of  permitting  a  wife  to  forsake 
her  home  or  neglect  her  household  duties  without  husband's  con- 
sent for  purpose  of  acquiring  earnings  for  her  separate  use, 
especially  if  husband  be  still  legally  bound  to  support  her  by  his 
own  labour.  §  162.  In  some  of  the  States  a  wife  may  not  become 
her  husband's  partner,  nor  join  her  labour  and  capital  to  his  in 
same  business  enterprise.  In  most  of  the  States,  not  permitted  to 
form  a  partnership  with  third  parties  exclusive  of  her  husband's 
interest  while  she  lives  with  him.  "  By  the  wife's  business  co- 
partnership with  third  persons,  and  particularly  with  those  of  the 
opposite  sex  apart  from  her  husband,  she  entangles  her  separate 
property  disadvantageously,  and  incurs  the  risk  of  personal  affilia- 
tions, besides,  quite  perilous  to  domestic  concord  and  the  mutual 
confidence  which  marriage  demands."  §  169, 

A  wife  may  in  some  States  be  sued  like  a  single  woman  ;  but, 
on  the  whole,  policy  still  disinclines  to  permit  a  personal  judg- 
ment to  be  rendered  against  a  married  woman,  even  on  what 
purports  to  be  her  personal  obligation.  §  158.  In  regard  to  com- 
mon-law rule  that  husband  and  wife  may  not  be  a  witness  for  or 
against  each  other,  prevailing  tendency  is  to  regard  domestic 
confidence  or  bias  of  less  consequence  than  the  public  conveni- 
ence of  ascertaining  the  truth.  §  53.  In  regard  to  presumption 
of  wife's  coercion  by  husband  in  committing  crime,  prevailing 
tendency  is  to  hold  her  responsible  unless  husband  commanded 
and  was   near  enough  to  directly  exert  his  marital  influence. 

§  50- 

Husband  is  in  many  States  entitled  to  administer  estate  of  de- 
ceased wife  except  under  circumstances  of  separation  or  as  other- 
wise provided  by  wife's  will.  §§  196,  198.  In  case  of  intestacy  he 
is  in  some  States  the  preferred  heir  of  her  personal  property.  §  198. 


Economic  Relations  247 

In  some  States  common-law  tenancy  by  courtesy  (husband's 
right  to  enjoyment  of  deceased  wife's  real  estate  during  his 
life-time  providing  a  child  capable  of  inheritance  is  born)  is 
abolished,  in  others  (the  majority)  it  is  reserved.  §§  201,  202. 
Administration  may  be  granted  by  the  Court  to  widow  or  to  next 
of  kin  or  to  both  together.  Right  of  the  widow  to  administer  is 
not  absolute  like  that  of  widower.  §  204.  A  wife  is  entitled  to  a 
third  of  her  deceased  husband's  personal  property,  likewise  to  a 
third  of  his  real  estate  (dower).  §§  205,  213,  Wife  or  husband 
together  with  offspring  entitled  to  homestead.  §  214. 


LECTURE  XI 

THE  RECKONING  OF  DESCENT  AND  KINSHIP  SYSTEMS 

Reckoning  of  de-  I"^ ESCE NTis  Teckoned  through  the  iTiother, throLigh 
i--'  the  father,  or  through  both  parents.  We  know 
positively  of  only  one  group^  in  which  kinship,  i.  e.^ 
clan  kinship,  is  not  reckoned  through  either  parent. 

Distinction  between       Matronymy  or  membership  in  the  maternal  kinship 

matliTrSe^"  "  g^'oup  should  be  distinguished  from  the  matriarchate  or 
family  control  by  the  mother  or  the  maternal  kindred. 
Paternal  and  marital  powers  generally  exist  although 
more  or  less  restricted  under  matronymic  systems. 
In  many  cases  the  only  practical  effect  of  matronymy 
is  an  exogamous  marriage  restriction.  Even  under  a 
matriarchal  organisation,  the  control  of  a  family  is 
with  the  woman's  kinsmen,  her  uncles  and  brothers, 
rather  than  with  the  mother  or  wife  herself. 

Between  patro-  Similarly,  patrouymy  or  membership  in  the  paternal 

nymy  and  the  patri      ....  ,       ,  .  ,  r  m  i 

archate  kmship  group  auQ  the  patriarchate  or  iamily  control 

by  the  father  or  paternal  kindred  are  to  be  distin- 
guished. Descent  may  be  agnatic,  with  or  without 
the  existence  of  a  large  degree  of  paternal  power.  A 
highly  developed  patriarchate  never  exists  without 
patronymic  descent,  just  as  a  developed  matriarchate 
never  exists  without  matronymic   descent.^       Matro- 

'  The  Arunta  of  Central  Australia. 

'  The  student  should  be  particularly  cautioned  about  the  use  of  these  or 
equivalent  terms,  as  there  is  no  agreement  in  the  terminology  of  writers  on 
the  subjects.  ]\Iother-right  {mutter recht)  may  cover  both  viatronymy  and 
matriarchate  or  viatronymy  only.  Again  matriarchate  may  be  taken  as 
equivalent  to  matronymy.  Corresponding  confusion  exists  of  course  among 
the  masculine  equivalents. 


Descent  and  Kinship  Systems  249 

nymy,   however,    not    uncommonly  accompanies    an  Matronymy  and  the 

incipient    or  even  fairly  well-developed  patriarchate.  ^*  "^'^ 

The  patriarchate  should  also  be  distinguished  from  Distinction  between 

•    .  r  f  X  1  T>i  1     ..  the  patriarchate  and 

very  primitive  lorms  ot  paternal  power.      1  he  latter  primitive  patemai 
is  generally  characteristic  of  the  family  of  the  most  p""^" 
primitive  social  groups,  whereas  the  former  is  found 
only  in  more  or  less  developed  groups  possessing  a 
comparatively  complex  juridical  system. 

Mixed  patronymic  and   matronymic  systems   may  Mixed  systems 
exist  in  the  same  group.      It  may  not  be  decided  until 
the  birth  of  the  child  to  which  kin  he  shall  be  ac- 
counted, or  sons  may  follow  the  father  and  daughters 
the  mother.     Mixed  forms  are  also  frequently  seen  in 
a  developing  patriarchate.^     Under  a  patronymic  sys-  significance 01 
tern  illegitimate  children  or  children  of  slave  parents  ZTo^^^m^Z' 
or  of  a  slave  parent  may  follow  the  mother.     But  It  Is  '^'^^"  ^  patronymic 

^        ^  •'  ^        _  ^  system 

an  Open  question  whether  this  Is  a  survival  of  a 
matronymic  system  or  merely  the  outcome  of  a 
strict  patriarchate. 

Indications  of  the  way  In  which  descent  is  reck- 
oned are  to  be  found  chiefly  in  inheritance  rules  and 
in  marriage  prohibitions  based  on  consanguinity. 
Similarly,  permitted  marriages,  such  as  half-brother 
and  half-sister  or  cousin-marriages,  may  point  to  an 
actual  or  outgrown  kinship  system. 

Naming  ceremonial  Is  of  great  significance  as  ex- 
pressing prevailing  ideas  about  descent.  Notable, 
too,  is  the  presentation  ceremonial,  where  the  new-born 
child  is  for  the  first  time  seen  by  kinsfolk.  Wide- 
spread In  patriarchal  organisation  is  the  lifting  up 
ceremony  by  which  the  father  recognises  his  offspring. 

Under  both  patronymic  and  matronymic  systems,  Physical  and  jund- 

ical  parenthood 
>  Cpp.  297-8. 


250 


The  Family 


Fictitious  brother- 
hood 
Milk  brotherhood 


The  covenant  of 
brotherhood 


Adoption  of  war> 
prisoners  or  slaves 


the  physical  kinship  of  both  parents  is  commonly 
recognised,^  but  it  is  not  identified  with  what  may  be 
called  juridical  kinship.  Juridical  parenthood  may, 
on  the  other  hand,  be  purely  fictitious.  Striking  in- 
stances of  fictitious  parenthood  are  seen  in  the  customs 
of  reckoning  children  begotten  by  a  former  to  a  sub- 
sequent husband,  the  imputation  of  a  son  begotten  by 
a  husband's  brother  to  the  living  or  deceased  husband, 
/.  e.,  the  so-called  ^/z)/^?^^  or  levirale,  the  imputation  of 
a  child  by  a  concubine  to  a  wife,  the  adoption  of  the 
son  of  the  appointed  daughter,  besides  many  other 
forms  of  adoption.  Adoption  is  a  common  custom 
among  ancestor-worshipping  peoples. 

There  are  many  forms  of  fictitious  brother-  or 
sisterhood,  as  well  as  of  parenthood.  In  milk  or 
foster  brotherhood  the  brothers  have  both  been 
suckled  or  reared  by  the  same  woman  or  in  the  same 
family.  A  covenant  of  brotherhood  is  not  uncom- 
monly entered  into  by  adults,  and  like  milk  or  foster 
brotherhood  it  may  entail  the  same  obligations  upon 
the  covenanters  as  actual  brotherhood.^ 

Where  slavery  is  not  developed,  the  adoption  of 
war-prisoners  into  the  captor's  group — household, 
clan,  or  tribe — may  be  accounted  the  only  alternative 
to  killing  them.  The  position  of  a  slave  frequently 
approximates  that  of  an  adopted  son. 

In  studying  facts  of  fictitious  kinship,  the  degree  to 
which  it  is  assimilated  with  blood-kinship  should  be 
noted,  whether  or  not,  for  example,   it  involves  the 


'  There  is,  however,  a  great  variety  of  beliefs  in  regard  vO  the  parts  played 
by  parents  in  reproduction.  These  beliefs  are  of  interest  in  a  study  of 
kinship  systems. 

'  See  p. 164. 


Descent  and  Kinship  Systems  251 

same  marriage  restrictions  or  privileges,  the  same 
rights  of  inheritance,  protection,  vengeance,  etc.  Let 
us  note,  too,  whether  or  not  it  wholly  or  only  par- 
tially precludes  the  ties  of  blood-kinship  which  it 
supersedes.  In  this  connection  the  covenant  or 
adoption  ceremonial  is  often  significant. 

There  are  two  distinct  types  of  consanguineous  ciassificatory  and 
classifications,  the  ciassificatory,  in  which  kinship  is  systJml"'^  "^  '^ 
reckoned  between  groups  of  individuals  of  the  same 
generation,  and  the  descriptive,  in  which  kinship  is 
reckoned  between  two  individuals  only  and  is  based 
on  their  genealogical  position  to  a  common  paternal  or 
maternal  ancestor. 

In  the  ciassificatory  system  kindred  are  never  de-  The  ciassificatory 
scribed  by  a  combination  of  the  primary  terms. 
They  are  arranged  in  classes.  I  call  my  mother 
and  my  mother's  sisters  mother,  my  father  and  my 
father's  brothers  father,  my  brothers  and  sisters 
and  the  children  of  my  mother's  sisters  and  my 
father's  brothers,  brothers  and  sisters,  my  own  off- 
spring and  the  offspring  of  my  sisters  or  brothers, 
sons  and  daughters.  It  is  to  be  noted  that  the 
children  of  brothers  or  of  sisters  are  brothers  and 
sisters  to  one  another,  but  that  the  children  of  a 
brother  and  of  a  sister  are  thought  of  as  more  re- 
motely related  cousins.  In  this  system  there  is  no 
divergence  of  collateral  lines.  The  collateral  lines 
are  merged  into  the  lineal  lines.  All  the  descendants 
of  the  common  ancestor  therefore  fall  within  the  re- 
cognised relationships.  Special  terms  for  uncle,  aunt, 
cousin,  etc.,  have  sometimes  been  introduced  into 
ciassificatory  systems. 

The  descriptive  system  is  so-called  because  origin-  The  descriptive 


252  The  Family 

ally  the  collateral  and  some  of  the  lineal  kindred  were 
described  by  a  combination  of  the  primary  terms, 
father,  mother,  brother,  sister,  e.  g.,  father's  father, 
brother's  son,  mother's  sister,  daughter,  etc.  Subse- 
quently in  certain  groups  special  terms  were  intro- 
duced, e.  g.,  grandfather,  nephew,  cousin,  etc.  We 
may  note  that  collateral  lines  diverge,  and  kinship  in 
these  lines  tends  to  be  lost  track  of.  The  descriptive 
system  lends  itself  to  numerical  computation,  and 
Methods  of  reckon-    numerical  depfrees  of  kinship  are  in  use.     The  degree 

ing  the  degree  of  ...  . 

kinship  of  kinship  is  reckoned  in  two  ways,  either  by  ascend- 

ing from  ego  to  the  common  ancestor,  and  descending 
from  the  common  ancestor  to  the  collateral  relative 
in  question,  each  intervening  person  being  accounted 
as  one  degree,  /.  e., 

Levitical,  Roman,  x-      1        t      /■      1  /  ■,  r      ■,        \ 

and  civil-law  system  Father  s  father  (grandfather) 

Father^ 2I3 Father's  brother  (uncle) 

Ego^  j  I  *  Father's  brother's  son  (cousin), 

my  father's  brother's  son  thereby  standing  to  me  in 
the  fourth  degree  ;  or  by  descending  from  the  common 
ancestor  to  the  collateral  in  question,  e.  g.^ 

Canon  and  English  t-      i        ,     ,      ,  /  ,^      ,        \ 

common-law  Father  s  father  (grandfather) 

^yst'™  Father^ i^|i ^Father's  brother  (uncle) 

Ego^l  [^Father's  brother's  son  (cousin), 

my  father's  brother's  son  thereby  standing  to  me  in 
the  second  degree. 

NOTE   A 
Distinctions    between    Terms  of   Kinship   and    Parental 
Control. 

Dargun,  Mutterrecht  und  Vaterrecht,  pp.  1-16. 

Definition  of  Terms  Descriptive  of  Kinship  and  Kinship 
Groups. 


Descent  and  Kinship  Systems  253 

Grosse,    Die  Formen   der   Familie   unci   die  Formen   der 
Wirtschaft,  pp.  9-14. 
Descent  in  the  Totem  Clan. 

Frazer,  Toiemism,  pp.  69-82. 

Fictitious  Kinship. 

Post,   Grundriss,  i.,  93-1 11;  Familienrechts,  pp.  25-42. 

Kohler,  Studien  iiber  die  kunstliche  Verwandschaft  in  Zt.  f. 
vergleichende  Rechts  wissenschaft,  v.,  415-440. 

Krauss,  Sitte  und  Branch  der  SUdslaven,  Vienna,  1885, 
sec.  xxix. 

Levirate. 

Flach,  Les  institutions  primitives:  Levirat  in  Annates  des 
sciences  politiques.  May,  1900. 

Kinship  Systems. 

Morgan,  Systems  of  Consanguinity  and  Affinity  of  the 
Human  Family  in  Smithsonian  Contributions  to  Knowledge^ 
xvii.,  10-70. 

Lubbock,  On  the  Development  of  Relationships  in  J.  A.  Z"., 
i.,  1-26. 

Post,  Familienrechts^  pp.  6-21. 

Reports  of  the  Cambridge  Anthropological  Expedition  to 
Torres  Straits,  vol.  v.,  sections  ii.,  iii.  (classificatory  system). 

Effects  of  Kinship  Systems. 

Post,   Grundriss,  i.,  65-93. 

NOTEB 

The  Origin  of  Matronymy. 

Due  to  dubious  fatherhood  resulting  from  exogamy  and 
polyandry.  McLennan,  Studies,  etc.,  p.  124;  The  Patriarchal 
Theory,  p.  216. 

Uncertainty  of  fatherhood  and  certainty  of  motherhood. 
Dargun,  Mutterrecht  und  Vaterrecht,  i.,  44-46. 

Marriage  by  capture.  Kautsky,  Die  Entstehung  der  Fhe, 
etc.,  p.  267. 

Due  to  the  apparently  closer  physiological  relation  between 
mother  and  child.     A  convenience  in  polygyny.     In  case  of 


254  The  Family 

separation  infants  and  even  older  children  follow  the  mother, 
Westermarck,   The  History  of  Human  Marriage,  pp.  96-113, 

Due  to  uncertainty  of  fatherhood.  A  convenient  rule  in 
exogamy  for  determining  who  are  marriageable  women  in  the 
group.     Spencer,  Principles  of  Sociology,  i.,  641, 

Due  to  a  desire  to  preclude  marriage  with  mother's  kin- 
dred. The  father's  kindred  are  known  for  offspring  live  in 
his  horde  ;  but  the  mother's  kindred  belong  to  another  horde 
and  are  less  well-known,  particularly  if  she  is  not  living  at 
the  marriage  of  her  children  or  if  the  father  had  many  wives 
simultaneously  or  successively.  Cunow,  Les  bases  ecotwmiques 
du  matriarcat  in  Le  Devenir  social,  iv.,  53-54- 

Meaning  of  Matronymy  in  Slavery. 

The  outcome  of  a  strict  patriarchate.  Marital  and  conse- 
quently paternal  power  have  not  been  acquired.  A  slave 
woman's  children  therefore  belong  to  her  owner.  Wilken, 
De  Verbreidung  van  het  Matriarchal  op  Sumatra,  pp.  38-53. 

A  survival  of  historical  matronymy.  Failure  of  the  com- 
paratively new  patriarchal  system  to  assert  itself  because  of 
the  absence  of  a  purchase  price  allows  the  old  matronymic  sys- 
tem to  reassert  itself.  Dargun,  Mutterrecht  und  Vaterrechty 
i-,  143-154- 
Relation  between  Matronymy  and  the  Matriarchate. 

Matronymy  due  to  the  matriarchate.  Bachofen,  Das 
Mutterrecht,  p.  xxi. 

Matriarchate  a  result  of  matronymy.  Westermarck,  The 
History  of  Hutnan  Marriage,  pp.  111-112,  540. 

Matronymy  involves  matriarchate.  Kautsky,  Die  Entste- 
hung  der  Ehe,  etc.,  pp.  343-344. 

The  primitive  endogamous  mother-group  {Muttergruppe) 
based  on  matronymy  an  universal  stage.  The  matriarchate 
develops  from  it,  but  is  not  an  universal  stage.  Hellwald, 
Die  menschliche  Familie,  pp.  151,  203,  239-240. 

Order  of  Genesis  of  Matronymy  and  Patronymy, 

Matronymy    preceded    patronymy.     McLennan,    Studies, 
etc.,  pp.  88,  123;    The  Patriarchal  Theory,  p.  216. 
Dargun,  Mutterrecht  und  Vaterrecht,  i.,  chap.  vi. 


Descent  and  Kinship  Systems  255 

In  Australia,  Howitt,  Native  Tribes  of  South-east  Australia, 
p.  283. 

Patronomy  preceded  matronymy,  the  latter  being  origin- 
ally a  means  in  polygyny  of  determining  the  full  brother 
who  was  to  inherit  the  family  guardianship.  Starcke,  The 
Primitive  Family,  pp.  26-27. 

This  sequence  not  invariable.  Bernhoft,  Zur  Geschichte 
des  europdischen  Familie  in  Zt.  f.  vergleichende  Rechtswissen- 
schaft,  viii.,  pp.  401-402, 

The  systems  were  independently  developed.  Kautsky, 
Entstehung  der  Eke,  pp.  256  ff.,  388  ff. 

The  systems  may  have  been  worked  out  side  by  side. 
Although  in  many  cases  the  paternal  clan  {Vatersippe)  has 
suppressed  the  maternal  clan  {Muttersippe)  the  latter  is  not 
necessarily  always  the  earlier.  Grosse,  Die  Formen  der 
Familie,  etc.   pp.  61,  165-166. 

Origin  of  Patronymy. 

In  the  inconvenience  of  uterine  succession  when  a  transi- 
tion is  made  from  nomadic  hunting  to  sedentary  agricultural 
life.  In  encroachments  of  the  local  group  upon  the  class 
and  totem  groups.  In  the  breaking  off  of  tribal  fragments 
through  marriage  elopements,  expulsion  of  offenders,  hostile 
invasion,  etc.  Howitt  and  Fison,  Mother-right  to  Father- 
right  in  /.  A.  /.,  xii.  (1883),  30-42. 

Encroachments  of  the  patriarchate,  marriage  by  capture, 
influence  of  contact  with  patronymic  societies,  migratory  life 
of  cattle-breeders.      Dargun,  Mutterrecht  und  Vaterrecht,  i. 
chap.  vi. 

Marriage  by  contract.  McLennan,  The  Patriarchal  Theory, 
chap.  xiii. 

Origin  of  the  Levirate. 

Review  of  controversies.  Starcke,  The  Primitive  Family, 
pp.    141-158. 

A  custom  of  substitution  analogous  to  replacing  by  the 
wife's  family  of  a  wife  who  dies  or  turns  out  ill.  Inheri- 
tance of  widow  by  brother  or  near  kinsman  characteristic  of 
the  matriarchate  as  opposed  to  the  patriarchal  custom  of  in- 
heritance of  widows  by  sons.    Tylor,  On  a  Method,  etc.,  p.  253. 


256  The  Family 

A  special  case  of  the  Niyoga,  due  to  an  intense  desire  for 
male  issue.  Maine,  Early  Law  and  Custom,  London,  1883, 
p.  106. 

Connected  with  the  obligation  to  provide  for  a  deceased 
brother's  offspring.  Spencer,  The  Principles  of  Sociology, 
i-,  673. 

An  extension  of  the  Niyoga.  The  owner  of  a  woman  is 
the  owner  of  her  children;  and  a  man's  brother  does  for 
him  after  his  decease  what  he  would  have  done  for  him  in 
life.  Not  a  survival  of  polyandry.  Mayne,  A  Treatise  on 
Hindu  Laiv  arid  Usage,  Madras,   1900,  pp.  82-85. 

Possibly  a  reminiscence  of  group  marriage.  Kohler,  Zur 
Urgeschichte  der  Ehe  in  Zt.  f.  verglcichende  Rechtswissenschaft, 
xii.,  321. 

A   survival    of  polyandry.     McLennan,   The  Patriarchal 
Theory,  pp.    156-160;    The  Levirate   and  Polyandry,   in  the 
Fortnightly  Review,  1877. 
Meaning  of  Classificatory  System. 

Explicable  only  as  originally  the  result  of  promiscuous  in- 
tercourse involving  the  cohabitation  of  brothers  and  sisters 
as  its  most  common  form.  Morgan,  Systems  of  Consanguifiity 
and  Affinity  of  the  Human  Family,  pp.  143,  469,  474-494. 

Based  on  group  marriage.  Kohler,  Zur  Urgeschichte  der 
Ehe,  p.  306. 

Relationships  are  mere  expressions  for  the  results  of 
marriage  customs.  Lubbock,  On  the  Development  of  Rela- 
tionships in  J.  A.  I.,  \.,  (1872),  26. 

A  system  of  mutual  salutations  merely,  but  it  probably 
grew  up  with  a  system  of  blood  ties.  Nair  and  Thibetan 
forms  of  polyandry  can  explain  it.  McLennan,  Studies,  etc., 
pp.  273,277-278. 

Nomenclature  expresses  juridical  relations.  Starcke,  The 
Primitive  Family,  p.  207. 

A  recognition  of  three  generations  to  hinder  sexual  re- 
lations between  relatives  in  the  ascending  and  descending 
line.     Cunow  ;  Australneger,  p.  165. 

Originally  a  division  according  to  generation  to  define 
sexual  rights  of  older  and  younger  males.  Atkinson,  Social 
Origins  and  Primal,  Law,  pp.  285-286,  292. 


Descent  and  Kinship  Systems  257 

Originally  a  system  of  pointing  out  seniority  and  cus- 
tomary legal  status.     Crawley,   The  Mystic  Rose,  p.  476. 

The  terms  of  relationship  were  extended  from  the  individ- 
ualistic family  to  larger  sets  of  persons  occupying  the  same 
customary  legal  status  as  actual  fathers,  sons,  sisters,  etc., 
as  family  groups  (parents  and  offspring)  coalesced  into  tribal 
societies.     Lang,  Social  Origins  and  Primal  Law, '^.  lO'^. 

Originated  in  the  aim  of  granting  facilities  for  marriage  in 
derogation  of  an  earlier  system  according  to  which  legiti- 
mate sexual  alliance  had  become  difficult.  Marriage 
regulations  were  based  on  the  relationship  of  a  father  to  his 
child,  and  the  idea  that  gave  rise  to  those  regulations  also 
originated  the  classificatory  system.  Wake.  The  Origin  of 
the  Classificatory  System  of  Relationships  Used  amotig  Primitive 
Peoples,  in  /.  A.  /.,  viii.,  144-176. 

Originates  in  age  groups  irrespective  of  kinship.  Contem- 
poraries of  father  are  all  called  father,  because  the  father 
has  not  yet  received  a  name  to  distinguish  him  from  them. 
The  system  has  nothing  to  do  with  marriage  customs. 
Kautsky,  Die  Entstehung  der  Ehe,  etc.,  pp.  197-198. 

NOTE  C 

Analyse  descent  and  kinship  terms  in  use  by  ethnologists,  or 
compile  a  dictionary  of  English,  German,  and  French  terms  used 
in  description  of  the  family,  etc.,  giving  instances  of  use.  Review 
groups  in  which  matronymy  is  (i)  primarily,  (2)  exclusively,  an 
exogamous  rule  ;  in  which  mixed  matronymic  and  patronymic 
systems  prevail.  Make  a  comparative  study  of  coexistence  of 
matronymy  and  (i)  primitive  paternal  control  (2)  patriarchate, 
of  matronymy  and  patronymy  and  (i)  naming  and  lifting  up  cere- 
monial, (2)  presentation  ceremonial  (3)  beliefs  about  parts 
played  by  parents  in  reproduction,  (4)  adoption  ceremonial.  Al- 
most any  one  of  the  hypotheses  given  in  Note  B  might  be  tested 
by  the  comparative  method  followed  by  Tylor. 

NOTE  D 
Veddahs : 

A  son  inherits  from  father  right  to  family  hunting-ground  and 
cave,  also  axe,  bow  and  arrows,     p.  490. 


258  The  Family 

Yahgan : 

Descent  in  both  lines,  x.,333.  Sometimes  family  names  are 
passed  from  one  generation  to  another,  from  father  to  eldest  son. 
vii.,  170. 

Descent  recognised  to  the  fourth  or  fifth  degree,    x.,  334. 

Central  Australians: 

Among  Arunta,  and  Arunta  typical  of  large  group  of  tribes 
inhabiting  centre  of  continent  from  Lake  Eyre  to  Port  Darwin, 
descent  counted  in  male  line,  p,  70.  Not  infrequently  two 
brothers  in  blood  will  marry  two  sisters  in  blood.  The  usual 
plan  is  for  elder  brother  to  marry  elder  sister  ;  should,  however, 
elder  sister  marry  younger  brother  then  seniority  is  counted  in 
male  line.  In  this  case  sons  and  daughters  of  younger  daughter 
are  the  elder  brothers  and  sisters  of  those  of  elder  sister,  p.  88. 
A  child  at  birth  very  often  named  after  place  at  which  mother 
imagines  she  conceived  it — that  is  spot  at  which  she  first  becomes 
aware  that  she  is  atnunta.  p.  57  n.  i.  A  large  number  of 
prominent  rocks  and  boulders  and  certain  ancient  gum-trees  are 
trees  and  rocks  of  spirits.  If  a  woman  conceives  a  child  after 
having  been  near  the  gap  where  these  trees  and  rocks  are,  it  is 
one  of  these  spirit  individuals  wliich  has  entered  her  body,  and 
therefore,  quite  irrespective  of  what  mother's  or  father's  totem 
may  chance  to  be,  that  child,  when  born,  must  of  necessity  be 
(in  case  cited)  of  witchetty  grub  totem.  It  is,  in  fact,  nothing  else 
but  the  reincarnation  of  one  of  the  witchetty  grub  people  of  the 
Alcheringa.  p.  124.  Idea  firmly  held  that  child  is  not  direct 
result  of  intercourse,  that  it  may  come  without  this,  which 
merely,  as  it  were,  prepares  mother  for  reception  and  birth  of  an 
already  formed  spirit  child,  who  inhabits  one  of  the  local  totem 
centres,  p.  265.  Among  Urabunna  descent  counted  through 
the  mother  both  as  regards  class  and  totem,     p.  60. 

When  a  child  dies  not  only  does  actual  J//a,  or  mother,  cut 
herself,  but  all  the  sisters  of  latter,  who  are  also  Mia  to  dead 
child,  cut  themselves.  All  women  call  their  own  children  Umba, 
and  apply  precisely  same  term  to  children  of  their  sisters,  blood 
and  tribal,     p.  75. 

Point  Barrow  Eskimo  : 

Women  who  have  several  children  frequently  give  away  one  or 


Descent  and  Kinship  Systems  259 

more  of  them.  Custom  of  adoption  universal  and  adopted  treated 
by  parents  precisely  like  their  own.  Always  plenty  of  families 
ready  and  willing  to  adopt  orphans,  p.  419. 

Cousins  spoken  of  as  *'  one  breast,"  that  is,  brothers  and  sis- 
ters,    p.  419. 

Behring  Strait  Eskimo  : 

Exploits  of  a  man  or  woman's  father  drawn  on  grave-box,  etc. 
p.  31 1.  A  child  given  name  of  last  person  who  died  in  village  or 
name  of  a  deceased  relative  who  may  have  lived  in  another  place, 
thus  becoming  representative  of  dead  person  at  Festival  of  the 
Dead.     p.  289. 

Childless  Eskimo  frequently  adopt  a  child,  either  girl  or  boy, 
preferably  latter,  so  that  when  they  die  there  will  be  some  one 
left  whose  duty  it  will  be  to  make  the  customary  feast  and  offer- 
ings to  their  shades  at  Festival  of  the  Dead.     p.  290. 

Central  Eskimo  : 

Adoption  carried  on  to  a  great  extent.  If  for  any  reason  a 
man  is  unable  to  provide  for  his  family,  or  if  a  woman  cannot  do 
her  household  work  children  adopted  by  a  relative  or  friend, 
who  considers  them  as  his  own  children,  p.  580.  Bachelors 
without  relatives,  cripples,  men  who  have  lost  their  sledges  or 
dogs,  sometimes  adopted  and  serve  without  loss  of  esteem  adoptive 
families,     p.  581. 

Wyandots  : 

Descent  in  female  line,  "  the  woman  carries  the  clan."     p.  59. 

Prisoners  of  war  adopted  into  tribe  and  therefore  necessarily 
into  some  family  or  killed,     p.  68. 

Two  young  men  may  agree  to  be  perpetual  friends.  Each 
reveals  to  other  secrets  of  his  life,  counsels  with  him  on  mat- 
ters of  importance,  defends  him  from  wrong  or  violence,  and  at 
his  death  is  chief  mourner,     p.  68. 

Melanesians  : 

Banks'  Isls.  and  New  Hebrides  :  Two  matronymic,  exogamous 
divisions.  No  distinguishing  name  or  badge.  Members  of  one 
veve  (division)  said  to  be  tavalaima  to  the  other,  "  of  the  other 
side  of  the  house."     Florida  and  adjacent  Solomon  Isls.:    Six 


26o  The  Family 

matronymic,  exogamous  kin  divisions,  named  after  places  or 
animals.  Each  division  has  its  abomination,  buto^  to  eat  or  see 
or  touch  which  would  be  a  dreadful  thing.  In  one  case  only 
is  the  buto  the  creature  after  which  division  is  named.  Ulawa, 
Ugi,  parts  of  San  Cristoval,  Malanta,  Quadalcanar  :  No  kin 
divisions,  descent  follows  the  father,     pp.  21-34. 

Adoption  common;  childless  parents  naturally  adopt  a  child 
of  same  division  as  adoptive  mother.  If  an  orphan  of  father's 
division  is  adopted,  when  it  is  grown,  it  will  leave  its  adoptive 
parents  and  go  to  members  of  its  own  division,     p.  23. 

Ewe-Speaking  Peoples  : 

Kinship  traced  through  females.  Arunas,  an  eastern  tribe,  say 
that  lower  jaw  is  only  part  a  child  gets  from  mother.  All  the 
rest  of  the  body  comes  from  ancestral  spirits  ( The  Yoruba- 
Speaking  Peoples,  p.  131,  footnote).  Among  upper  classes  only 
in  Dahomi  kinship  traced  through  fathers,  involving  paternal 
proprietorship  in  children  and  primogeniture,  pp.  209-210.  Also 
pp.  163-164.  Among  easterly  tribes,  priest  tells  what  ancestor 
has  sent  child,  and  gives  it  a  name,  purifying  it  by  bathing  its 
head  with  water  eight  days  after  birth,  p.  154, 

If  a  wife  have  no  children,  children  of  her  slave  by  her  husband 
regarded  as  hers,  p.  205.  The  novitiate  in  the  priesthood  con- 
sidered to  belong  to  family  of  chief  priest  who  initiates  him.  If 
chief  priest  dies  childless  he  is  the  heir,  A  slave  considered  in 
every  sense  a  member  of  his  owner's  family.  He  calls  his  owner 
"father,"  and  is  called  in  turn  "son"  or  "daughter."  p,  291. 

Kinship  does  not  appear  to  be  traced  beyond  fourth  cousin, 
p.  208. 

Tshi-Speaking  Peoples  : 

Said  that  formerly  male  infants  always  had  for  a  second  name 
(the  first  name  comes  from  birthday  of  child)  that  of  maternal 
grandfather,  and  females  that  of  maternal  grandmother.  Now 
eight  days  after  birth  father  visits  child.  Handed  to  him,  he 
squirts  a  little  rum  from  his  mouth  into  its  face,  and  gives  it  its 
second  name,  generally  that  of  a  particular  friend  or  deceased 
ancestor,  pp.  234,  233.  Matronymic  clan  organisation.  Clan 
name  the  test  of  kinship.  {Yoruba-Speaking  Peoples,  p.  297.)  Next 
of    kin    is  a    man's  brother    born    of    same  mother ;    then   his 


Descent  and  Kinship  Systems  261 

eldest  sister's  eldest  male  child  ;  then  the  nephew  next  in  order 
of  descent,  p.  298, 

A  woman  who  has  not  heard  of  her  husband  for  three  years 
may  marry  again,  and  right  of  second  husband  remains  valid 
even  should  first  return,  but  any  children  by  the  second  may  be 
pawned  by  the  first  husband,  p.  285.  If  a  wife  have  no  children, 
then  children  of  her  slave  by  her  husband  regarded  as  hers.  p.  288. 
Slave  addresses  master  as  "my  father,"  and  master  slave  as"my 
son."  p.  291. 

Yoruba-Speaking  Peoples  : 

Kinship  traced  through  both  parents,  p.  176.  Children  by 
different  mothers,  but  same  father,  by  many  natives  still  scarcely 
considered  true  blood-relations,  p.  176.  Seven  days  after  birth 
in  case  of  girl,  nine  days  in  case  of  boy,  priest  performs  cere- 
mony of  purification  for  mother  and  child.  Bathing  child's  head 
with  water,  repeats  three  times  its  name.  p.  153.  Soon  after  a 
birth  a  priest  ascertains  what  ancestral  soul  has  been  reborn  in 
infant,  and  parents  informed  that  it  must  conform  in  all  re- 
spects to  manner  of  life  of  this  ancestor,   p.  152. 

Formerly  when  an  elder  brother  died  next  brother  married  his 
head-wife,  and  were  deceased  childless,  first  son  of  this  second 
marriage  named  after  him  and  considered  to  fill  place  of  son,  but 
he  inherited  only  from  actual  father,  p.  186, 

Thompson  River  Indians: 

Blood  relationship  considered  a  tie  which  extended  over 
generations,  both  in  male  and  female  line.  p.  290.  A  child 
could  be  named  from  either  father's  or  mother's  ancestors  or 
people,  pp.  290-291.  When  adults  changed  their  names,  the 
name  generally  chosen  that  of  some  deceased  relative,  such  as 
father,  brother,  uncle,  etc.,  in  case  of  males.  Name  of  a  deceased 
relative  not  taken  until  at  least  a  year  or  more  after  death.  It  is 
a  matter  of  pure  choice  among  a  group  of  relatives  who  shall 
take  name  of  deceased  or  whether  it  shall  be  taken  at  all.  How- 
ever, nearest  of  kin  generally  takes  it,  and  older  takes  precedence 
of  younger,  p.  291. 

Some  captive  children  were  adopted  into  family  of  their  master. 
p.  290. 


262  The  Family 

Kabyles  : 

Seubkha.  If  a  woman  remarries  and  is  confined  before  nine 
months,  the  child  may  be  claimed  by  her  husband  as  his  unless 
she  has  declared  before  witnesses  that  she  was  pregnant  before 
marriage.  In  which  case  child  is  returned  to  her  first  husband 
or  his  relatives,  iii.,  439. 

Ancient  Arabs  : 

Nor  has  he  made  your  adopted  sons  your  real  sons.     Call  them 
by  their  fathers'  names  ;  that  is  more  Justin  God's  sight,  xxxiii., 
4-5- 
Ancient  Hebrews  : 

And  yet  indeed  she  [Sarah]  is  my  sister  ;  she  is  the  daughter 
of  my  father,  but  not  the  daughter  of  my  mother  ;  and  she  became 
my  wife.  Gen.  xx.,  12. 

Rachel  was  barren,  and  she  gave  her  maid  Bilhah  to  Jacob 
that  she  might  have  children  by  her.  A  son  was  born  to  Bilhah, 
and  Rachel  said:  God  hath  given  me  a  son.  Leah  also  gave  her 
maid  to  Jacob.  Two  sons  were  born,  and  Leah  named  them. 
lb.  XXX.,  4-13. 

And  Judah  said  unto  Onan,  his  son  ;  go  in  into  thy  brother's 
wife,  and  marry  her,  and  raise  up  seed  to  thy  brother.  The  Lord 
slew  him  for  failing  to  do  this  thing.  lb.  xxxviii.,  8-10.  If 
brethren  dwell  together  and  one  of  them  die,  and  have  no  child, 
the  wife  of  the  dead  shall  not  marry  without  unto  a  stranger  :  her 
husband's  brother  shall  take  her  to  him  to  wife,  and  perform  the 
duty  of  a  husband's  brother  unto  her.  And  it  shall  be,  that  the 
firstborn  which  she  beareth  shall  succeed  in  the  name  of  his 
brother  which  is  dead,  that  his  name  be  not  put  out  of  Israel. 
And  if  the  man  like  not  his  brother's  wife,  then  let  his  brother's 
wife  go  up  to  the  gate  unto  the  elders,  and  say,  my  husband's 
brother  refuseth  to  raise  up  unto  his  brother  a  name  in  Israel,  he 
will  not  perform  the  duty  of  my  husband's  brother.  Then  the 
elders  of  his  city  shall  call  him,  and  speak  unto  him  :  and  if  he 
stand  to  it  and  say,  I  like  not  to  take  her  ;  then  shall  his  brother's 
wife  come  unto  him  in  the  presence  of  the  elders,  and  loose  his 
shoe  from  off  his  foot  and  spit  in  his  face,  and  shall  answer  and  say. 
So  shall  it  be  done  unto  that  man  that  will  not  build  up  his  brother's 
house.    And  his  name  shall  be  called  in  Israel,  The  house  of  him 


Descent  and  Kinship  Systems  263 

that  hath  his  shoe  loosed.  Deut.  xxv.,  5-10,  The  nearest  kinsman 
of  Mahlon,  deceased,  refused  to  redeem  his  land  and  marry  his 
widow  to  raise  up  the  name  of  the  dead  upon  his  inheritance  lest 
he  should  mar  his  own  inheritance.  Ruth  iv.,  5-6. 

Babylonians  : 

If  either  a  slave  of  the  palace  or  a  slave  of  a  freeman  take  the 
daughter  of  a  man  (gentleman)  and  she  bear  children,  the  owner 
of  the  slave  may  not  lay  claim  to  the  children  of  the  daughter  of 
the  man  for  service.   §  175. 

If  a  man  take  in  his  name  a  young  child  as  a  son  and  rear  him, 
one  may  not  bring  claim  for  that  adopted  son.  §  185.  If  a  man, 
who  has  taken  a  young  child  as  a  son  and  reared  him,  establish 
his  own  house  and  acquire  children,  and  set  his  face  to  cut  off 
the  adopted  son,  that  son  shall  not  go  his  way.  The  father  who 
reared  him  shall  give  to  him  of  his  goods  one-third  the  portion  of 
a  son,  and  he  shall  go.  He  shall  not  give  to  him  of  field,  garden, 
or  house.  §  191. 

Ancient  Hindus  : 

The  husband,  after  conception  by  his  wife,  becomes  an  em- 
bryo and  is  born  again  of  her.  ix.,  13.  A  student  may  not  beg 
from  his  oiun  or  his  mother  s  blood-relatives,  ii.,  184.  Ry  the 
sacred  tradition  the  woman  is  declared  to  be  the  soil,  the  man  is 
declared  to  be  the  seed.  In  some  cases  the  seed  is  distinguished 
and  in  some  the  womb  of  the  female  ;  but  when  both  are  equal, 
the  offspring  is  most  highly  esteemed.  .  .  .  The  seed  is  declared 
to  be  more  important,  for  the  offspring  of  all  created  beings  is 
marked  by  the  characteristics  of  the  seed,  ix.,  33-36. 

The  offspring  of  a  man  who  marries  a  second  wife  having 
begged  money  to  defray  the  marriage  expense  belong  to  the  giver 
of  the  money,  xi.,  6.  The  owner  of  a  woman,  not  the  begetter 
of  her  children,  is  the  father  of  her  children,  ix.,  48-55.  On 
failure  of  offspring  a  woman  who  has  been  authorised  may  obtain 
children  by  cohabitation  with  a  brother-in-law  or  some  other 
Sapinda  of  her  husband.  Not  more  than  one,  or,  at  any  rate,  two 
sons  shall  be  obtained  in  this  way  and  then  the  cohabitation 
shall  utterly  cease,  on  pain  of  becoming  outcasts,  ix.,  59-63.  If 
a  younger  brother  beget  a  son  to  his  elder  brother,  then  the  latter 
foregoes  his  right  to  an  additional  share  of  the  paternal  inherit- 


264  The  Family 

ance.  ix.,  120-121.  See  ix.,  146-147.  If  a  widow  of  a  childless 
man  raise  up  to  him  a  son  by  a  member  of  the  family,  she  shall 
deliver  to  that  son  the  whole  property  which  belonged  to  the 
deceased,  ix.,  190.  There  are  the  following  twelve  kinds  of  sons: 
The  legitimate  son  of  the  body  (first  in  rank);  a  son  begotten  on 
the  appointed  wife  of  a  dead  man,  eunuch,  or  diseased  man;  an 
adopted  son — a  boy  affectionately  given  by  his  mother  or  his  father 
to  a  man  in  times  of  distress;  a  son  made — one  equal  in  caste  and 
endowed  with  filial  virtues  whom  a  man  makes  his  son;  the  son 
secretly  born,  /.  e.,  in  a  man's  house  of  an  unknown  father,  belongs 
to  the  mother's  husband  ;  a  son  cast  off — one  adopted  by  a  man 
after  he  has  been  deserted  by  his  parents;  the  son  of  an  unmar- 
ried damsel  (he  belongs  to  the  man  who  subsequently  marries 
her);  the  son  received  with  the  wife  (the  child  of  a  pregnant 
bride);  the  son  bought  (from  his  father  or  mother);  the  son  of  a 
remarried  woman,  /.  <?.,of  a  woman  abandoned  by  her  husband  or 
a  widow  ;  the  son  self-given,  i.  e.,  he  who  has  lost  his  parents  or 
who  has  been  unjustly  abandoned  by  them;  the  son  o  a  Sudra 
female.  The  first  six  are  kinsmen  and  heirs  ;  the  second  six, 
kinsmen  but  not  heirs.  The  eleven,  exclusive  of  the  legitimate 
son  of  the  body,  are  called  substitutes  for  a  son  in  order  to  prevent 
a  failure  of  the  funeral  ceremonies.  If  one  among  brothers  have  a 
son,  all  the  brothers  are  declared  to  have  male  offspring  through 
that  son.  If  one  wife  have  a  son,  all  the  wives  are  declared  to 
have  male  offspring  through  that  son.  ix.,  158-183.  Under 
adopted  son  is  included  the  son  of  an  appointed  daughter. 
ix.,  127-140. 

Ancient  Chinese  : 

At  the  end  of  the  third  month  the  child's  hair  was  shaved  and 
the  wife  with  the  son  appeared  before  the  father.  The  wife,  with 
the  boy  in  her  arms,  came  forth  from  her  room  and  stood  beneath 
the  lintel  with  her  face  to  the  east.  The  governess  then  came  for- 
ward and  said  for  the  lady:  "The  mother,  so  and  so,  ventures 
to-day  reverently  to  present  to  you  the  child."  The  husband  re- 
plied, "  Reverently  teach  him  to  follow  the  right  way."  He  then 
took  hold  of  the  right  hand  of  his  son,  and  named  him.  A  record 
of  birth  was  made  and  deposited  and  the  feast  was  celebrated. 
This  ceremony  of  naming  was  observed  by  all.   xxvii.,  474-476. 


Descent  and  Kinship  Systems  265 

Zze-sze,  grandson  of  Confucius,  was  asked  why  he  did  not  have 
his  son  wear  mourning  for  his  mother,  divorced  by  Zze-sze,  as  his 
own  father  had  done  under  similar  circumstances.  He  answered: 
"  While  she  was  my  wife  she  was  Pai's  [his  son]  mother;  but  when 
she  ceased  to  be  my  wife,  she  was  no  longer  his  mother."  xxvii., 
122, 

The  kinship  was  the  bond  of  connexion  expressed  in  the  degree 
of  mourning,  xxviii.,  66.  For  parties  four  generations  re- 
moved from  the  same  common  ancestor  the  mourning  was  re- 
duced to  that  worn  for  three  months  and  this  was  the  limit  of 
wearing  the  hempen  cloth.  If  the  generations  were  five,  the 
shoulders  were  bared  and  the  cincture  assumed  ;  and  in  this 
way  the  mourning  within  the  circle  of  the  same  was  gradually  re- 
duced. After  the  sixth  generation  the  bond  of  kinship  was  held 
to  be  at  an  end.  xxviii.,  6;^.  The  mourning  worn  for  the  son  of 
a  brother  should  be  the  same  as  for  one's  own  son:  the  object 
being  to  bring  him  still  nearer  to  one's  own  self,  xxvii.,  147. 

Ancient  Romans  : 

Relationship  by  law  arises  through  the  male  sex.     G.  iii.,  §  10. 

Unless  right  of  intermarriage  exists  between  father  and  mother 
child  is  of  whatever  condition  his  mother  is.     G.  i.,  §  67. 

Adoption  by  authority  of  the  people  takes  place  in  case  of  per- 
sons who  are  free  from  power,  and  consent  of  adopted  asked. 
Opinion  prevailed  that  women  may  not  be  adopted  in  this  way. 
By  authority  of  the  magistrate  in  case  of  those  who  are  under 
power.  G.  i.,  §§  98-100.  Power  of  actual  father  in  no  wise  dis- 
turbed by  adoption,  y.  i.,  xt'.,  §  2.  Permission  to  adopt  may  be 
accorded  women  by  Emperor,  as  a  solace  for  loss  of  their  own 
children.  Id.,  §  lo. 

The  descriptive  system  thoroughly  worked  out.  Separate  terms 
for  maternal  and  paternal  uncles,  aunts,  cousins,  y.  iii.,  ?;/.,  §§ 
1-7.  Paternal  or  maternal  aunts  held  to  occupy  position  of 
ascendants,  y.  i.,  x.,  §  3. 

French  : 

340.  It  shall  not  be  allowed  to  prove  paternal  descent.  341. 
Proof  of  maternal  descent  is  allowed. 

343.  Persons  of  either  sex  can  only  adopt  when  they  are  over 
fifty  years  of  age  ;  when,  at  time  of  adoption,  they  have  no  child- 


266  The  Family 

ren  nor  legitimate  descendants,  and  when  they  are  at  least  fifteen 
years  older  than  individuals  whom  they  propose  to  adopt.  345. 
Right  to  adopt  can  only  be  made  use  of  in  favour  of  individual  to 
whom  person  has  given  assistance  or  of  whom  he  has  taken  care 
uninterruptedly  during  six  years  at  least  when  he  was  under  age,  or 
in  favour  of  one  who  has  saved  the  life  of  person  who  adopts, 
either  during  a  battle  or  by  rescuing  him  from  fire  or  water.  In 
second  case  it  shall  be  sufificient  if  adopter  is  of  full  age,  older 
than  adopted,  without  children  or  legitimate  descendants,  and 
when  married,  if  husband  or  wife  consents  to  adoption.  346. 
Adoption  can  never  take  place  before  the  adopted  is  of  full  age. 
If  adopted  still  has  his  father  and  mother,  or  one  of  them,  and 
has  not  reached  tull  age  of  25,  he  shall  be  bound  to  produce 
the  consent  to  the  adoption  given  by  his  father  and  mother  or  the 
survivor  of  them  ;  and  if  he  is  over  25,  to  solicit  their  advice. 

People  of  United  States  : 

In  some  States  an  illegitimate  child  follows  settlement  of 
mother.  §  278  a. 

In  some  States  adoption  recognised,  rights  oi  adoptive  parents 
being  treated  substantially  as  those  of  a  natural  parent.  In  some 
cases  adoption  of  a  stranger  as  co-heir  with  one's  own  child  dis- 
countenanced and  in  some  States  adoption  not  allowed  at  all. 
§  232. 


LECTURE  XII 

KINSHIP  GROUPS.     THE  PRIMITIVE  SIMPLE  FAMILY.     THE 
COMPOUND  FAMILY.       THE  MATRIARCHATE 

BLOOD-KINSHIP  is  in  all  social  groups  an  im-  Biood-kinship and 
portant,  if  not  the  most  important,  social  tie,  and  ®°"*' °''e^°'^**'°" 
kinship  groups  are  the  chief,  if  not  the  only,  social 
organisations  of  any  community.     Simple  groups  of  Kinship  groups 
parents  and  their  offspring,  more  complex  groups  con- 
sisting of  more  than  two  generations  and  frequently  of 
collateral  kinsfolk  (the  compound  family,  matriarchal 
or  patriarchal),  still  more  complex   groups  claiming 
descent  from  a   common  ancestor,  the  clan  (totem 
clan,  matriarchal  and  patriarchal  clan)  and  phratry  are 
the  social  groups  based  on  kinship.     The  tribe  and 
tribal  confederation  may  or  may  not  be  so  considered. 
There  are  several  different  types  of  tribal  organisa- 
tion.    We  shall  refer  to  them  briefly  in  describing 
the  smaller  kinship  groups. 

There  is  probably  no  known  group  of  human  beings  simple  family 
in  which  no  blood-kinship  is  recognised  outside  of  the 
simple  group  of  parents  and  offspring  ;  but  this  group 
may  be  and  frequently  is  the  only  kinship  group  to 
the  members  of  which  reciprocity  of  rights  and  duties 
to  any  extent  attach.  As  such  it  is  characteristic  both 
of  small  primitive  hordes  and  of  complex  modern 
societies. 

The  simple  family  of  the  primitive  horde  ^  is  usually  organisation  of 

primitive  simple 
'  Group  marriage  or  quasi-group  marriage  is  also  found  in  this  cultural   family 
stage. 

267 


268  The  Family 

monogamous.  When  polygyny  occurs,  the  number 
of  wives  is  commonly  small,  rarely  more  than  two  or 
three,  and  there  is  little  or  no  subordination  among 
them.  In  exogamy  wives  always  follow  their  hus- 
bands' hordes.  Husband  and  father  mastery  while 
the  group  remains  together  is  pronounced.  Wives, 
however,  are  not  uncommonly  exchanged  with  or  lost 
to  other  men.  In  separation  offspring  follow  either 
father  or  mother.  If  young  they  always  continue  with 
the  mother.  The  birth  rate  is  usually  high.  There 
is  also  a  high  infant  death  rate.  It  is  due  to  natural 
causes  or  to  the  practice  of  infanticide.  Foeticide  and 
the  prevention  of  conception  are  of  comparatively  rare 
occurrence.  The  number  of  children  in  a  family  is 
two,  three,  or  four,  seldom  more.  The  period  of  lac- 
tation is  long,  lasting  from  two  to  three  or  even  four 
or  five  years.  After  this  period  children  quickly  learn 
through  imitating  the  very  simple  economic  arts  of 
their  families  to  provide  for  themselves.  Parents  are 
indulgent  or  indifferent ;  discipline  is  rare.  Sons  are 
separated  from  their  mothers  when  from  seven  to 
twelve  years  old,  and  a  few  years  later  become  inde- 
pendent of  their  fathers.  Daughters  are  married  off 
when  very  young,  often  before  nubility.  In  many 
cases  nubility  occurs  at  from  eight  to  twelve  years  of 
age.  Wives  are  obtained  through  the  barter  of 
daughters  or  sisters  or  through  special  acts  of  service. 
Presents  sometimes  accompany  the  bargain.  Female 
chastity  before  marriage  is  unusual ;  but  the  adulteress 
may  be  brutally  punished  by  her  husband.  Where 
descent  is  formally  reckoned,  it  may  be  in  both  lines 
or  it  may  be  either  matronymic  or  patronymic.  The 
classificatory  seems  in  most  cases  to  be  the  prevailing 


The  Primitive  Simple  Family  269 

kinship  system.  The  reckoning  of  descent  becomes 
more  important  and  more  formal  under  clan  organisa- 
tion, for  exogamous  marriage  restrictions  are  thereby 
defined,  and  the  passing  on  of  totemic  practices 
thereby  regulated. 

It  is  necessary  at  this  point  to  consider  briefly  the  Totemism 
system  of  primitive  thought  known  as  totemism.  A 
totem  is  a  class  of  objects — animals,  plants,  stones, 
etc.,  or  in  rare  instances  artificial  things — which  are 
believed  to  be  intimately  and  helpfully  related  to  a 
man.  There  are  three  kinds  of  totems — individual, 
sex,  and  clan  totems.  The  individual  totem  is  of 
interest  in  a  study  of  the  family  from  the  facts  that  it 
is  sometimes  inherited  by  a  son,  a  nephew,  etc.,  and 
that  the  securing  of  a  totem  for  a  child  at  birth  or 
later  is  a  matter  of  parental  solicitude.  The  sex 
totem  is  a  striking  illustration  of  the  differentiation 
of  interests  according  to  sex.  Women  sometimes 
defend  their  totem  with  considerable  force  and  acri- 
mony against  the  attack  of  men,  and  vice  versa. 
Totemism  is  most  widespread  and  most  influential 
in  the  clan  organisation.  The  clan  totem  is  reputed 
to  be  the  common  ancestor  of  all  members  of  the 
clan.  Members  of  the  totem  clan  are  commonly  for- 
bidden to  eat  or  kill  or,  in  case  of  a  plant,  cut 
representatives  of  the  species  to  which  their  ancestor 
belongs,  although  on  rare  occasions  they  are  in  some 
cases  obliged  to  eat  or  gather,  although  sparingly, 
such  representatives.  Sometimes  they  may  not 
touch  or  even  look  at  their  totem,  and  various 
practices  expressive  of  respect  or  affection  for  the 
totem  are  customary.  Sickness  or  death  are  com- 
monly believed  to  follow  infractions  of  totem  regula- 


2  70 


The  Family 


tions.  Totem  insignia  are  used  in  personal  decoration 
through  painting,  tattooing,  scarification,  arrangement 
of  the  hair,  etc.,  and  in  the  decoration  of  weapons, 
boats,  household  equipments,  graves,  etc.  Rites  for 
the  purpose  of  increasing  the  totem-species  or  for 
purposes  which  are  not  as  yet  fully  understood,  but 
which  are  plainly  expressive  of  animistic  ^  thought,  are 
practised  on  occasions  of  the  assembly  of  members 
of  the  totem  clan.  The  initiation  of  the  youth  into 
the  totem  regulations  or  magic  of  their  totem  clan  is 
one  of  the  most  important  of  these  occasions.  Birth 
and  marriagre  ceremonial  have  also  at  times  a  totem- 
istic  character,  assimilation  with  or  the  protection  of 

Totem  clans  the  totem  being  desired.     Totem  clans  are  with  rare 

exceptions  exogamous  (the  relation  between  totemism 
and  clan  exogamy  is  still,  however,  an  open  question); 
so  that  local  groups  or  hordes  are  made  up  of  members 
of  different  totem  clans.  Under  a  patronymic  system 
the  horde  will  obviously  be  more  homogeneous  than 
under  a  matronymic  (except  perhaps  in  rare  matri- 
archal cases  where  the  husband  joins  the  wife's 
group).     Theoretically,  blood-feud    is  a   function  of 

Blood-feud  the  totem  clan.      (Blood-feud  is  the  exaction  of  re- 

venge for  injuries  received  by  a  member  of  a  kinship 
group  by  the  whole  group,  and  the  payment  by  the 
group  of  compensation — composition — for  injuries  in- ; 
flicted  by  one  of  its  members  upon  the  member  of 
another  kinship  group.)  Practically,  however,  the 
horde  tends  to  share  in  the  quarrels  of  its  members. 

phratry  Totcm  claus  are  sometimes  grouped  together  into  a 

phratry,  or  rather  a  tribe  subdivided  into  two,  four, 

'  The  method  adopted  is  usually  that  of  assimilation  with  the  totem  through 
representation  of  its  appearance  or  motions. 


The  Primitive  Simple  Family  271 

or  eight  divisions,  which  in  turn  contain,  although 
not  in  all  cases  exclusively,  two  or  more  totem  clans. 
Such  phratries  are  usually  exogamous.  At  funerals 
or  festivities  clans  may  assemble  as  phratries,  and 
in  the  case  of  inter-clan  murder,  the  phratries  may 
intervene. 

To  return  to  the  primitive  type  of  simple  family,   primitive  simple 

^       .     .        .  11*1  1*1  ^^i.  family,  totem  clan, 

we  find  It  m  groups  both  with  and  without  a  totem  and  horde 

clan  or  phratry  organisation.      In  the  former  case  the 

functions  of  the  family  tend  to  be  more  or  less  taken 

over  by  the  clan.      In  either  case  the  /ocal  group  or 

horde  to  which  the  family  belongs  is  comparatively 

small,  consisting  of  from  twenty  to  one  hundred  or 

one    hundred    and   fifty   individuals.      Even   in  such  Kinship  within  the 

small    hordes  families    may  camp  separately,   either 

singly  or   by  twos    or   threes.       These   families    are 

likely   to   be   related  by  blood.     They  may  be,  for 

example,  the  families  of  two  brothers,  or  of  father  and 

son  or  son-in-law.      In  fact,  whatever  the  prevalent 

kinship  system,  many       mbers  of  the  horde  itself  are 

bound  to  be  blood  as  well  as  totem  kindred.     This  is 

all  the  more  likely  where   there    is    no  exogamous 

totem  clan  system  and  the  horde  is  endogamous. 

This  scattering  of  the  families  in  the  horde  as  well  Effect  of  mode  of 
as  the  limited  number  of  the  horde  itself  is  due  to  the  ofgTo^up""°"^'^* 
exigencies  of  the  mode  of  subsistence,  a  low  type  of 
hunting  or  fishing.     The  hordes  live,  as  a  rule,  in  bar- 
ren regions,  in  which  plant  and  animal  life  is  more  or 
less  scant.     The  men  kill  or  trap  small  j^ame  or  fish  Division  of  labour 

,  ,  according  to  sex 

and  the  women  gather  insects,  roots,  fruits,  berries,  or 
shell-fish.  The  meagreness  of  this  food  supply  pre- 
cludes a  settled  life  as  well  as  the  formation  of  large 
groups.     The  families  or  hordes  migrate   over  land  Migratory  groups 


2  72  The  Family 

which  is  accounted  common  to  the  horde  or  tribe  to 
which  the  horde  belong^s.  The  men  of  the  horde  may 
sometimes  unite  in  hunting  or  fishing  excursions,  the 
spoils  being  more  or  less  definitely  apportioned  accord- 
ing to  the  parts  played  in  the  capture.  In  some  cases, 
however,  there  seems  to  be  a  tendency  for  individuals, 
i.  e.,  heads  of  families,  to  appropriate  hunting  or  fish- 
ing places  and  to  pass  on  the  right  to  use  them  to 
their  sons.  There  is  need  of  much  more  ethnographic 
information  on  this  subject. 

The  tribe  Several  hordes  speaking  the  same  dialect  and  uniting 

for  fighting  or  festivity  or  for  the  practice  of  magic 
ceremonial  by  the  totem  clansmen  may  compose  an 

Its  government  undevclopcd  type  of  tribe.  There  is  as  a  rule  no  tribal 
chief  or  council.  In  fact  in  groups  without  a  totem 
clan  orofanisation  there  is  so  little  intercourse  between 
the  hordes  that  the  tribe  as  a  social  organisation  is 
practically  non-existent.  Affairs  are  directed  by  the 
elder,  sometimes  by  the  stronger  or  more  enterprising 
or  by  the  magically  gifted  men  of  the  horde.  One 
of  the  elder  men  may  have  predominating  influence. 
Under  totem  clan  organisation,  if  the  tribe  is  patro- 
nymic, and  the  hordes  as  we  have  seen  tend  to  be 
composed  of  a  majority  of  one  totem  clan,  wives  always 
living  in  their  husbands'  hordes,  the  head-man  may 
have  to  belong  to  the  predominant  totem  clan. 

Inheritance  There  is  2l  tendency  for  this  position  to  be  passed  on 

from  father  to  son  if,  at  the  death  of  the  former,  the 
latter  be  of  a  suitable  age,  if  he  be  competent,  and  if 
he  belong  to  the  predominant  totem  clan.  Sons  may 
also  inherit  magic  ceremonial  from  their  fathers  where 
there  is  an  individual  as  well  as  a  clan  totem  system. 
Even  under  the  latter  system  special  ceremonies  may 


The  Primitive  Simple  Family  273 

be  passed  on  in  families.  In  case  of  polygyny  sons 
inherit  their  fathers'  wives  if  they  are  old  enough  to 
marry  them,  otherwise  they  go  as  a  rule  to  their  fath- 
er's brothers.  Sons  also  inherit,  as  a  rule,  the  right  of 
bartering  their  sisters  in  marriage.  There  is  little  or 
no  personal  property  of  other  kinds  to  inherit.  A 
man's  weapons,  boats,  traps,  etc.,  are  frequently  broken 
or  buried  or  burned  at  his  death.  Sometimes  they 
are  given  away  by  his  heirs.      In  these  customs  and  in  Beginnings  of 

111  ••r  f  r      ^  1  ancestor-worship 

customs  probably  arismg  trom  tear  01  deceased  per- 
sons,— deserting  or  destroying  the  hut  of  the  deceased, 
frightening  away  his  spirit  by  noise,  charms,  etc., 
ceasing  to  speak  of  him  by  name,  amputating  or  bind- 
ing the  fingers,  hands,  feet,  etc.,  of  the  corpse,  kill- 
ing the  enemy  who  is  supposed  to  have  caused  his 
death, — maybe  seen  the  beginnings  of  ancestor-wor- 
ship. We  shall  consider  this  subject  more  fully  in 
discussing  the  compound  patriarchal  family  where  a 
fully  developed  ancestor-worship  is  an  extremely 
influential  factor. 

As   in  the   case  of  totem  clan  so  with  that  of  com-  The  compound 
pound  family  organisation,  the  functions  of  the  simple    *™*'^ 
family  tend  to  be  merged  into  those  of  the    larger 
group.     In  the  compound  matriarchal  or  patriarchal 
family  three  or  more  generations  of  ascendant  or  de- 
scendant or  collateral  relatives  are  bound  together  by 
special  economic,  juridical,  and  religious  ties.     The  re- 
ligious and  some  of  the  economic  ties  we  shall  con- 
sider in  connection  with  special  types  of  compound 
families.     The  juridical  and  other  economic  ties  may 
at  once  be  described  as  their  character  is  in  general  the 
same.     In  well-developed  types  of  compound  family  property 
property  is  generally  owned  in  common  by  the  group. 
18 


2  74  The  Family 

All  forms  of  property,  movable  and  immovable,  cattle, 
field  and  household  implements,land  and  dwellings,and 
even  clothes,  may  be  held  in  common,  or  special  kinds 
of  property  or  property  that  has   been   individually 
acquired  or  produced,  war-booty,  cultivated  fruit-trees, 
and  gardens,  etc.,  may  be  looked  upon  as  belonging  to 
the    individual    acquirer   or  producer.     All  inherited 
property  may  in  this  sense  be  group  property.      Land 
— hunting,  pasture,  and  even  tillable  land — may  belong 
to  the  clan  or  tribe  instead  of  to  the  compound  family. 
In  this  case  the  use  of  the  land  only  may  be  given  to 
would-be  cultivators  and  the  land  may  revert  to  the 
landlord  group  whenever  it  ceases  to  be  cultivated  or 
at  the  end  of  an  arbitrary  period. — We  should  note 
carefully  in  this  connection,  that  the  notions  of  land- 
ownership,  both   individual  and  communal,   that  are 
held  in  ethnic  groups  differ  to  a  considerable  extent 
from  those  of  civilisation.      In  the  former,  the  habit  of 
using  a  piece  of  land  leads  to  the  idea  of  the  right  to 
use  \\}\  in  the  latter,  land  is  assimilated  with  other 
forms  of  property  to  be  used  or  not  at  the  pleasure  of 
the  possessor. — The  rights  of  the  different  family  mem- 
bers upon  the  family  property  vary.     The  family  head 
may  have  the  sole  control,  or  every  male,  more  rarely 
female,  member  may  have  an  equal  claim.      In  some 
cases  family  property  may  be  indivisible,  in  others, 
it   may    be    alienated    under    special    circumstances, 
e.  g.,   great  poverty,   the  paying  of  family  debts  or 
ransoms,  at  the  consent  of  all  members  of  the  family. 
Again,  in  other  cases,  a  partition  maybe  provided  for 
at  a  given  time  or  generation,  in  the  lifetime  or  at  the 

'  See  Lasch,    Die  Landwirtschaft  der  Naturvolker   in  Zt.  f.  Socialwissen- 
schaft,  vii,  (  1904  ),  256. 


The  Compound  Family  275 

death  of  the  housefather,  in  the  second  or  third  gen- 
eration, etc.,  or  when  the  group  has  grown  beyond  a 
certain  size.  Frequently  a  partition  or  individual  in- 
heritance of  personal  property  is  customary  while  that 
of  real  property  is  not.  The  selling  of  real  property 
owned  by  the  compound  family  may  also  be  forbidden. 
Again,  property  may  be  sold  out  of  the  simple  family 
but  not  out  of  the  larger  kinship  group,  i.  e.,  compound 
family,  or  if  the  former  means  of  disposal  be  allowed, 
then  an  option  of  purchase  (preemption)  or  a  right  to 
redeem  the  property  belongs  to  the  kinsmen.  Inherit- 
ance of  family  property  varies  according  to  the  type 
of  the  compound  family.  We  shall,  therefore,  con- 
sider this  subject  again  later. 

All  the  members  of  the  compound  family  are,  as  a  juridical  ties 
rule,  responsible  for  the  offences  of  any  one  member. 
They  are  subject  with  him  to  fine  or  punishment. 
They  may  also  be  called  upon  to  pay  his  debts,  to  ran- 
som him  from  captivity,  or  to  support  him  or  his  wife 
and  offspring  if  he  become  destitute  or  fall  in  war,  or 
if  need  be  to  contribute  to  the  bride-price  he  may  have 
to  pay  for  a  wife.  The  compound  family  is  also  bound 
to  support  its  helpless  members  in  general,  young  or 
old  or  invalid.  Frequently  no  member  of  the  com- 
pound family  may  leave  it  without  permission  and,  on 
the  other  hand,  exile  from  the  group  may  be  inflicted 
only  for  stated  offences.  The  group  exacts  blood- 
vengeance  or  composition  for  offences  committed 
against  its  members.  A  word  about  this  principle  of  Biood-feud 
revenge  in  ethnic  society  will  be  in  place.  Vicarious- 
ness  is  characteristic  of  revenge  in  ethnic  society. 
Killing  must  be  revenged  by  killing,  but  not  necessarily 
by  that  of  the  murderer.     A  member  of  his  family, 


276  The  Family 

simple  or  compound,  of  his  clan  or  of  his  tribe  may 
be  the  object  of  vengeance.  Similarly  blood-feud  may 
be  carried  on  by  one  or  another  of  these  kinship  groups. 
From  the  ethnographical  information  given  it  is  often 
very  difficult  to  determine  upon  which  or  what  part  of 
a  kinship  group  the  duty  of  blood-feud  falls.  In  some 
cases  it  may  be  limited  to  the  nearest  blood-relatives, 
in  others  it  falls  indifferently  upon  any  kinsman.  In 
many  cases  blood-feud  is  a  duty  to  the  murdered.  For 
neglect  to  revenge  his  death  his  living  relatives  would 
Composition  be    punislied    by    his  spirit.     In  many  communities 

blood-vengeance  may  be  bought  off  by  payment  of  a 
blood-price,  by  composition.  The  blood-price  com- 
monly varies  according  to  sex,  age,  or  rank.  The 
murder  of  a  woman  costs  less,  as  a  rule,  than  that  of  a 
man.  A  woman  of  child-bearing  age  or  a  pregnant 
woman  is  valued  higher  than  a  female  of  non-repro- 
ductive age  or  capacity.  Children,  male  as  well  as 
female,  are  of  less  value  than  adults.  Where  eco- 
nomic classes  are  at  all  differentiated  the  murder  of  a 
slave  or  commoner,  for  example,  is  redeemable  for  less 
than  that  of  a  noble  or  chief.  Death  or  enslavement 
are  the  most  common  results  of  inability  to  pay  the 
blood-price.  The  practice  of  composition  may  be  more 
or  less  fortuitous,the  injured  person  or  family  may  have 
the  right  to  choose  between  blood-vengeance  or  com- 
position, or  composition  only  may  be  sanctioned  by  the 
Encroachment  of  g^'^^p-  The  fuuction  of  blood-feud  tends  to  disappear 
state  upon  family  ^yitli  many  Other  family  functions  with  the  develop- 
ment of  the  state.  Transition  forms  are  the  custom 
of  the  aggrieved  family  paying  the  chief  or  over-lord 
for  punishing  the  offender,  of  the  latter's  handing  over 
the  arrested  offender  to  the  family  for  punishment,  of 


The  Compound  Family  277 

the  right  of  the  family  to  participate  in  the  execution 
of  the  offender,  and,  most  important  of  all,  of  confining 
the  punishment  to  the  offender  himself  instead  of  vi- 
cariously punishing  any  member  of  his  kinship  group. 

Compound  family  groups  may  or  may  not  form  a  Relation  of  com- 
common  household.     In  the  former  case  the  recog-  Eousehotrgr^oip, 
nised  kin  may  also  extend   beyond  the    house-com-  f''"P'f  f^"»'.iy>  **»• 

J  J  tem  clan,  tribe 

munity.  The  compound  family  ties  are  closer  at  times 
than  those  of  the  simple  families  within  it.  The  claim 
of  the  group-head  to  the  obedience,  service,  etc.,  of  the 
group  members  may,  for  example,  be  greater  than  that 
of  the  father  in  the  constituent  simple  family  to  the 
obedience,  service,  etc.,  of  his  offspring.  On  the  other 
hand,  reciprocal  rights  and  duties  are  as  a  rule  graded 
to  a  certain  extent  according  to  nearness  of  blood. 
The  duty  of  blood-vengeance,  for  example,  may  fall 
(under  patriarchal  organisation)  first  upon  the  son  of 
the  man  to  be  revenged,  then  upon  his  brother,  then 
upon  his  paternal  uncle  or  cousin,  and  finally  upon  any 
or  all  of  his  more  remote  agnatic  kinsmen.  Compound 
family  ties  are  also  more  binding  than  those  of  local 
groups  or  totem  clans  (where  these  exist)  or  tribes, 
whenever  a  distinction  is  made  between  the  compound 
family  and  the  latter  social  types. 

There  is  much  confusion  both  of  thought  and  termin-  Need  of  definition 
ology  in  regard  to  the  compound  family  and  the  "  ^""p^ 
totem  or  non-totem  matriarchal  or  patriarchal  clan. 
Physical  concentration,  i.  e.,  a  common  household,  may 
be  taken  as  a  criterion,  but  only  a  partial  criterion  of 
the  compound  family  as  distinguished  from  the  mat- 
riarchal or  patriarchal  clan  ;  for  the  reciprocal  rights 
and  duties  of  a  blood  group  whose  simple  families 
live  in  separate   households  mav  be  equal  to,  if  not 


278 


The  Family 


The  matriarchal 
family 


Matronymy 


Residence  with 
wife's  family 


Mixed  systems 


greater  than,  those  of  a  group  living  In  the  same 
household.  The  whole  subject  needs  careful  analysis 
and  definition.  We  shall  not  attempt  this  here.  In 
the  special  studies  suggested  in  Note  C  we  may  find 
that  some  of  the  features  already  given  in  the  de- 
scription of  the  compound  family  and  to  be  given  in 
the  descriptions  that  are  to  follow  of  special  types  of 
compound  family  may  more  properly  be  considered 
characters  of  the  matriarchal  or  patriarchal  clan  or, 
in  accordance  with  the  distinctions  already  made  be- 
tween matriarchate  and  matronymy,  etc.,  of  the 
matronymic  or  patronymic  clan. 

A  pure  type  of  matriarchal  family  is  rare.  Some  of 
the  features  which  we  are  about  to  discuss  are  found 
in  one  community,  some  in  another. 

Matronymy  always  accompanies  the  matriarchate, 
but,  as  we  have  already  seen,  it  is  not  exclusively 
characteristic  of  the  matriarchal  family.  Residence 
with  the  wife's  kinsfolk  is,  on  the  other  hand,  a  more 
certain  index  of  this  type  of  family.  Here  again, 
however,  there  is  a  tendency  both  in  the  simple  and 
compound  patriarchal  family  for  the  older  and  leading 
men  to  retain  their  married  offspring,  daughters  and 
sons.  This  residence  may  be  permanent,  or,  as  in 
marriage  by  service,  temporary.  Correspondingly,  all 
offspring  may  be  accounted  to  the  maternal  kindred, 
or  only  offspring  that  are  born  during  the  temporary 
residence  in  the  maternal  home.  Of  great  interest  in 
this  connection,  as  well  as  in  the  study  of  methods  of 
mate-getting,  is  the  co-existence  in  the  same  com- 
munity of  marriage  by  purchase,  with  full  marital  and 
paternal  powers,  and  residence,  of  course,  in  the  man's 
home,  and  marriage  by  service,  with  limited  marital 


The  Matriarchate  279 

and  paternal  power  and  residence  in  the  woman's  home. 
Marriage  may  be  polyandrous,  polygynous,  or  monoga-  Forms  of  marriage 
mous.    If  polygynous,  the  wives  are  frequently  sisters  sister-poiygyny 
or  other  relatives,  ranking,  as  a  rule,  according  to  sen-  subordination 
iority.    The  value  of  woman's  work,  which  we  shall  con-  ^'"°°^  "^'^^ 
sider  later,  creates  a  tendency  towards  polygyny.    The 
right  to  divorce  is,  in  general,  reciprocal.    Offspring  re- 
main with  the  mother  or  her  family.   The  number  of  off-  Abortion 
spring  is  often  artificially  limited,  abortion  being  the 
most  common  means  in  use.     The  lactation  period  is  Lactation 
often  long,  although  such  protracted  periods  as  four 
or  five  years  are  rare.     The  mother  and  her  male  rela-  control  of  ofFspring 
tives,  particularly  her  brothers,  have  the  major  control 
of  the  children  ;  infanticide  may  not  be  practised  with- 
out their  consent ;  they  determine  the  marriage  of 
daughters  and  receive    the  marriage  gifts  from  the 
groom  ;  they  sometimes  make  return  gifts.    Girls  have, 
as  a  rule,  however,  some  influence  in  the  selection  of 
their   husbands,  although  infant-  and  child-betrothal 
also  occur.      Lack  of  chastity  in  girls  before  marriage 
is  not  uncommon.     Sometimes  it  is  condemned,  some- 
times it  meets  with  more  or  less  indulgence.     Wifely 
infidelity   is  more  severely  treated ;  but  the  punish- 
ments are  not  as  harsh  as  under  patriarchal  organisa- 
tion.    Marriage  occurs  at  or  after  nubility.     Youths  Age  at  marriage 
may  not  marry  until  some  time  after  puberty,  either 
because  of  the  difficulty  of  getting  a  wife  or  because 
of  initiation  rules.     Initiation  takes  place  between  the  At  initiation 
ages  of  fourteen  and  eighteen.     There  are  traces  of 
discipline  in  the  bringing  up  of  children  and  more  or  Discipline  of 
less  systematic  training  of  boys  in  endurance,  speed,  0^^?""^ 
courage,    etc.      This    task    frequently    falls    to    the  Avuncuiate 
mother's  brother.     The  system  of  claims  upon  the 


28o  The  Family 

mother's  brother  for  such  discipline,  for  support  and 
protection  in  various  ways,  and  for  inheritance  of  rank 
or  property,  is  known  as  the  aviuiculatc.'^  Under  the 
avunculate,  as  a  rule,  the  mother's  brother  has  had  a 
say  in  the  marriage  and  protection  of  the  mother,  his 

raj«-right  sister,  as  well  as  of  her  children.      Vasu-x\^\.^  is  an 

extreme  form  of  the  avunculate.  By  it  the  nephew 
has  a  claim  upon  his  maternal  uncle's  property,  even 
during  the  latter's  lifetime. 

Character  of  group       I  u  case  of  a  common  household  or  house-community, 

charfamiiy  belongs  froui  tweuty  to  fivc  huudrcd  individuals  may  live  to- 
gether, and  several  households  may  camp  or  settle  in 
one  group.  In  the  case  of  hunters  or  fishers,  these 
groups  are  still  migratory,  but  the  stays  in  different 
places  are  longer  and  there  may  be  permanent  seasonal 
villages.  The  food  supply  is  more  abundantandcertain, 
for  these  groups  live  in  more  favourable  regions  where 
animal  life  is  richer  than  do  the  lower  cultural  groups. 

Economic  arts  The  weapotts,  nets,  and  traps  of  the  men,  moreover,  are 
better  adapted  for  hunting  and  fishing,  and  the  women, 
besides  gathering  shell-fish,  roots,  berries,  etc.,  also,  in 
some  cases,  carry  on,  even  where  hunting  or  fishing 
is  the  chief  mode  of  subsistence,  a  primitive  kind  of 
agriculture.  But  in  the  greater  number  of  communi- 
ties, where  matriarchal  features  are  at  all  marked,  the 
tilling  of  the  soil  by  both  sexes  tends  to  be  the  chief 
and  most  dependable  mode  of  subsistence.  In  such 
agricultural  communities  the  groups  are  still  larger 
and  the  life  is  sedentary.  Handicrafts  begin  to  de- 
velop. The  men  build  canoes  and  huts  and  make 
nets.  The  women  weave  and  make  pottery.  It  is 
evident,  therefore,  that  the  economic  training  of  boys 

^Avunculus,  mother's  brother.  "^  Fiji  term. 


The  Matriarchate  281 

and  girls  will  cover  a  longer  period  than  in  the  ruder 

community  of  the  primitive  simple  family.      It  is  evi-  Effects  of  increased 

•'  ^  ^  ^  value  of  female 

dent,  also,  that  the  increased  value  of  woman  s  ubour 
work  will  be  a  factor  in  determining  residence  in  the 
bride's  home,  as  well  as  in  creating  a  desire  for  po- 
lygyny among  the  older  and  richer  men,  the  household 
heads.  Personal  property  consists  of  women,  in  a  inheritance 
few  cases  of  slaves,  of  boats,  utensils,  clothes,  including 
blankets,  weapons,  traps,  etc.  It  is  inherited  either 
through  the  maternal  uncle,  as  we  have  seen,  or 
through  the  mother,  married  women  having  a  right 
to  certain  kinds  of  goods — e.g.,  household  utensils  and 
clothes.  The  hut  or  lodge  may  also  be  accounted 
theirs.  These  goods  may  be  inherited  by  daughters. 
Otherwise  women  do  not,  as  a  rule,  inherit.  They  are 
rather  inherited.  Exceptions  to  this  rule  are,  of 
course,  cases  where  women  are  the  household  heads. 
Sons  (or  nephews)  inherit  equally  as  a  rule.  In  the  ^''^^^^"J'"'**"" 
agricultural  groups  land  and  dwellings  are  owned  in 
common  by  the  house-community.  Partial  inheritance 
through  the  father  is,  as  we  shall  see  later,  a  common 
indication  of  transition  from  the  matriarchate  to  the 
patriarchate.     Personal  property  is  also  to  a  certain  Developing 

i  1        i  ^  A  1       •  ancestor-worship 

extent  destroyed  with  the  deceased.  As  relations 
with  deceased  relatives  are  close,  their  spirits  are  pro- 
pitiated with  food,  drink,  etc.,  offerings,  and  they  are 
aoDealed  to  for  help.     Totemism  is,  however,  more  or  changed  character 

■t  1^  ■'•  of  totemism 

less  well-developed,  although  it  has  assumed  more  of 
a  religious  and  less  of  a  juridical  or  economic  charac- 
ter. Totem  clans  are  primarily  exogamous  marriage 
groups.^     On  the  other  hand,  where  husbands  perma- 

•  This  statement  may  at  first  seem  inconsistent  with  the  preceding.  What- 
ever the  origin  of  exogamy,  it  seems,  however,  in  view  of  the  supernatural 
sanctions  so  generally  attaching  to  it,  to  be  a  religious  rather  than  a  juridical  fact. 


282 


The  Family 


nently  join  their  wives'  groups,  the  totem  clan  tends  to 
be  a  more  concentrated  group,  with  economic  and 
juridical  functions.  Land  may  be  common  to  the  to- 
tem group.  It  may  be  wholly  or  partially  cultivated 
in  common.  The  totem  group  may  be  responsible  for 
the  acts  of  its  members,  and  it  may  exact  composition 
for  injuries  suffered  by  any  member. 

Tribal  government  The  local  group,  wlicther  or  not  a  totem  clan,  is,  as 
a  rule,  governed  by  heads  of  kinsfolks.  These  camps 
or  villages  may  be  coalesced  into  a  tribe  or  district 
governed  by  a  tribal  council  and  chief,  whose  functions 
are  primarily  military.  Tribal  confederations  or 
petty  kingdoms  may  also  arise.  In  the  first  case,  the 
tribal  chiefs  form  the  council  of  the  confederation  ; 
in  the  second,  one  of  the  tribes  or  chiefs  has  usurped 
control  of  the  others,  and  group  control  tends  to  take 
on  a  territorial  character. 

Gynocracy  Elder  women  are,  in  a  few  cases,  the  heads  of  kins- 

folk. They  even  have  a  seat  or  a  voice  in  the  tribal 
council  (gynocracy),  and  there  have  been  exceptional 
cases  of  female  tribal  chiefs.  As  a  rule,  however,  the 
kinsfolk  heads  are  the  eldest  or  most  competent 
males.  They  may  be  elected,  or  the  headship  may- 
be inherited  by  brother  or  nephew. 

NOTE  A 

Kinship  Groups. 

Post,  Familienrechts,  pp.  43-53,  104-112. 
Giddings,  Principles  of  Sociology,  pp.  157-168. 

Simple  Primitive  Family. 

Dargun,  Mutterrecht  und  Vaterrecht,  chap.  ii. 
Grosse,    Die   Fornien    der   Familie   und  die  Formen   der 
Wirthschaft,  chap.  iv. 
Kautsky,  Die  Entstehung  der  Ehe,  etc.,  pp.  200-207. 


The  Matriarchate  283 

TOTEMISM. 

Frazer,  Totemism. 
Tribal  Government  in  Australia. 

Howitt,  Native  Tribes  of  South-East  Australia,  chap.  vL 
Burial  Practices  in  Australia. 

lb.,  pp.  434-475- 
Among  Islanders  of  Torres  Straits. 

Reports  of  the  Cambridge  Anthropological  Expedition,  x. 
The  Compound  Family. 

Grosse,  Die  Fortnen  der  Familie  und  die  Formen  der 
Wirthschaft,  chap.  vii. 

The  Matriarchal  Family. 

Dargun,  Mutterrecht  und  Vaterrecht,  chap.  iv. 
Cunow,  Les  bases  ^conomiques  du  matriarcat  in  Le  Devenir 
social,  iv.,  42-65,  146-162,  330-342. 

Wilken,  De  Verbreiding  van  het  Matriarchaat  at  Sumatra. 

Gentile  Rights  and  Duties. 

Post,  Grundriss,  i.,  161-183. 
Gentile  Property. 

lb.,  i.,  196-226. 

Familienrechts,  pp.  266-291. 

Blood-Feud. 

Ibid.,  pp.  113-137- 
Grundriss,  i.,  226-261. 

Steinmetz,  Ethnologische  Studien,  etc.,  i.,  365-395. 
Westermarck,    The  Origin  and  Development  of  the  Moral 
Ideas,  pp.  477-491. 

NOTE  B 

Primitive  Human  Horde. 

Original  form  of  human  association  before  the  idea  of 
kinship  developed.     McLennan,  Studies,  etc.,  pp.  127-153. 

The  primitive  relationship  a  space  relationship.  A  brother- 
sister  intermarrying  monogamous  horde  precedes  the  family. 


284  The  Family 

Mucke,  Horde  und  Familie  in  ihrer  urgeschichtliche  Entwicke- 
lung,  Stuttgart,  1895,  pp.  59-60,  87-88,  297. 

Hordes  were  composed  of  pairing  families.  Gomme, 
Theory  of  the  Primitive  Horde,  in  /.  A.  /.,  xvii.,  pp.  1 18-133. 

No  evidence  for  existence  of  primitive  horde.  Wake, 
Ibid.,  pp.  276-282, 

Relation  between  Totemism  and  Exogamy. 

Totemism  preceded  exogamy.  The  totem  kin  was  the 
first  group  within  which  marriage  was  forbidden.  Totemism 
implies  original  homogeneity,  and  this  was  incompatible  with 
exogamy.     yichQx\n3.r\,  Studies,  etc..  Sec.  Ser.,  pp.  58-59. 

Exogamy  does  not  precede  totemism.  Primitive  man 
would  not  be  held  from  kinship  marriage  merely  by  abstract 
ideas  of  kinship.  Robertson-Smith,  Kinship  and  Marriage  in 
Early  Arabia,  p.  187. 

Exogamy  exists  without  totemism,  and  may  have  been 
originally  independent  of  it.  Tylor,  Remarks  on  Totemism, 
in  y.  A.  I.,  August,  November,  1898. 

Exogamous  habits  existed  before  totemism  through  sexual 
jealousy  of  male  head,  and  perhaps  through  sexual  supersti- 
tion and  sexual  indifference  to  persons  familiar  from  infancy. 
When  the  group  received  a  totem  name  this  would  be  the 
exogamous  limit,  no  man  or  woman  of  the  same  totem  name 
intermarrying.  Later  a  myth  of  kinship  with  the  totem 
would  arise,  and  would  add  the  religious  sanction  of  a  taboo. 
Lang,  Social  Origins,  etc.,  pp.  18,  34,  63,  186.  Also,  The 
Secret  of  the  Totem,  pp.  143  ff. 

Exogamy  forms  no  part  of  true  totemism.     It  is  a  great 
social  reform  of  a  much  later  date.     Frazer,  The  Beginnings 
of  Religion  and  Toietnisfn  in  The  Fortnightly  Review,  Sept., 
1905- 
Order  of  Genesis  of  Phratrv  and  Totem  Clan. 

The  totem  clan  existed  before  the  phratry,  the  latter  being 
an  amalgamation  of  two  separate  and  independent  local 
totem  groups.  Lang,  Social  Origins,  etc.,  pp.  36,  43,  6^. 
Also,  The  Secret  of  the  Totem,  chap.  vii.  Ibid.  Cunow, 
Australneger,  p.  24. 


The  Matriarchate  285 

There  were  two  original  exogamous  totem  clans  from  which 
colonies  swarmed  off  and  formed  new  totem  clans,  but  con- 
tinued to  unite  with  the  original  clan  in  phratry  organisation. 
*     Durkheim,  Sur  le  Totemistne  m  L'  anne'e  sociologiquey  1 900-1, 
pp.  82-121. 

A  phratry  was  originally  a  totem  clan  which  had  under- 
gone subdivision.     Frazer,  Totemism^  p.  60. 

Exogamous  bi-section  or  phratry  division  occurred  after 
formation  of  totem  clans.  Frazer,  in  J.  A.  I.  (new  series), 
i.,  284-285. 

Origin  of  the  Matriarchate. 

The  matriarchate  develops  when  the  agricultural  labour 
of  women  becomes  important.  This  labour  increases  their 
economic  value.  A  father  is  therefore  unwilling  to  let  his 
daughter  depart  at  marriage,  hence  the  husband  must  come 
to  live  temporarily  or  permanently  in  the  wife's  family. 
Because  of  her  economic  value  he  must  treat  her  well. 
Her  importance  as  furnishing  the  chief  and  most  certain 
food  supply  gives  her  weight  in  all  family  matters.  Cunow, 
Les  bases  economique  du  mariarcat,  in  Le  Devenir  social,  iv., 
338-342. 

Residence  of  husband  with  wife's  family.  Tylor,  On  a 
Method,  etc.,  pp.  258-261. 

In  the  development  of  mutual  aid  between  mother  and  off- 
spring based  on  the  originally  close  physiological  relation- 
ship. If  the  service  of  offspring  more  than  offsets  the  costs 
of  their  rearing,  the  matriarchal  family  will  develop  from  the 
primitive  unstable  family.  Friedrichs,  Ueber  den  Ursprung 
des  Matr  tare  hats,  in  Zt.  f.  vergleichende  Rechtsivissenshaft, 
vii.,  378-580. 

Separate  residence  of  wives  and  polygyny.  Starcke,  The 
Primitive  Family,  p.  54. 

Origin  of  F^^w-Right. 

It  grew  out  of  the  reverence  of  subjects  for  the  King's  sis- 
ter's son.  Then  a  kingly  means  of  plundering.  The  vasu 
shared  his  spoils  with  the  king.  Starcke,  The  Primitive 
Family,  pp.  92-93. 


286  The  Family 

Points  to  the  emancipation  of  the  sister's  son.  Mucke, 
Familie  und Horde,  pp.,  230-231. 

Origin  of  Clans. 

Through  frida/ exogamy  women  captured  from  tribes  B  &  C 
and  their  descendants  form,  because  of  matronymic  descent, 
separate  {:/a»s  in  their  husband's  tribe,  A.  McLennan,  Studies, 
etc.,  pp.  64,  128-129. 

Clans  arose  within  a  tribe  from  the  custom  of  taking  wives 
out  of  other  tribes.  Hellwald,  Die  Menschliche  Familie,  pp. 
188-189. 

In  marriage  by  capture.  Kautsky,  Die  Entstehung  der 
Ehe,  etc.,  pp.  266,  268. 

Gynocracy. 

A  period  of  gynocracy  everywhere  followed  the  original 
stage  of  hetairism.   Bachofen,  Das  Mutterrecht,  pp.  xviii.-xx. 
Hetairistic  mother-right  is  accompanied  by  polyandry  and 
gynocracy.     Kautsky,  Entstehung  der  Ehe  in  Kosmos,  xii. 

NOTEC 

Make  a  comparative  study  of  the  practice  of  killing  an  enemy 
at  the  death  of  a  relative,  distinguishing  between  this  practice  and 
blood-feud.  Study  the  extent  (i)  to  which  blood-feud  is  an  ex- 
clusively totem  clan  function — /.  e.,  to  what  extent  it  is  also  shared 
in  by  the  family,  horde,  or  tribe  ;  (2)  to  which  the  other  functions 
of  the  simple  family  tend  under  the  totem  clan  system  to  be  per- 
formed by  the  latter.  Make  a  comparative  study  of  residence, 
common  and  separate,  and  economic,  juridical,  and  religious 
ties  in  the  compound  family  :  (i)  matriarchal,  (2)  patriarchal. 
Analyse  use  of  terms  matriarchal  family,  matriarchal  or  matro- 
nymic clan,  etc.,  by  ethnologists.  Study  groups  in  which  matro- 
nymic clans  may  be  defined — /.  e  ,  where  cohesion  is  based  on  the 
reckoning  of  descent  and  not  on  group  control.  Upon  analysis  of 
a  large  number  of  matriarchal  and  patriarchal  organisations,  sug- 
gest a  method  of  distinguishing  the  matriarchal  or  patriarchal 
family  from  the  matriarchal  or  patriarchal  clan.  Study  the 
relation  of  the  matriarchal  family  to  other  co-existing  groups, 
totem  clan,  tribe,  local  group.  Study  the  extent  of  totemism  as 
a  religious  system  in  the  matriarchal  family. 


The  Primitive  Simple  Family  287 

NOTE  D 
Veddahs  : 

Each  family  lives  during  dry  season  on  its  own  hunting  ground, 
p.  475.  In  rainy  season,  in  the  wake  of  their  game,  families 
withdraw  to  a  common  cliff  centre.  Two  or  three  families 
may  live  in  same  cave,  but  they  partition  themselves  off  with 
bark,  twigs,  etc.  Right  to  a  cave  or  to  a  portion  of  it  a  family 
inheritance,   p.  477. 

Most  marriages  made  when  the  families  of  a  district  are  to- 
gether at  a  cliff  centre.  In  view  of  hundreds  or  thousands  of 
years  families  have  lived  in  same  district,  must  all  be  related  by 
blood.  Such  a  family  plexus  forms  a  clan,  warge,  and  sub-clans, 
zXso  cz\\e.di  warge.  pp.  477-478.  Wmewarge  {gross  clan) '^noyfw. 
pp.  483-484.  Over  the  warge  some  older  man  has  a  certain 
amount  of  influence.  But  position  has  no  power  attaching  to  it, 
nor  is  it  hereditary,  p.  478.  Oldest  or  most  intelligent  man  in 
warge  or  war^^-subdivision  is  group's  spokesman  with  strangers. 
Task  of  distributing  honey  of  cliff-bees  falls  to  him.  He  may  be 
a  peacemaker  in  certain  of  the  group's  quarrels,  p.  486.  In  one 
case,  an  old  woman,  who  seemed  mentally  more  alert  than  the 
others,  had  a  certain  authority,  and  was  appointed  spokesman, 
p.  486. 

Warge  have  no  relations  with  one  another,     pp.  484-485. 

Corpses  left  where  death  occurred,  covered  with  twigs  or 
leaves.  Sometimes  a  heavy  stone  placed  on  breast.  Place  or 
cave  deserted  until  decomposition  was  over.  p.  492.  Believe 
vaguely  in  existence  of  spirits  after  death  ;  but  pay  no  attention 
to  them.  pp.  498-499. 

Yahgan  : 

The  family,  /.  ^.,  simple  family,  is  well-formed,  x.,  T^-i^-i,.  The 
child  belongs  to  both  parents,  but  rather  more  to  father  than 
to  mother,  x.,  333.  In  separation,  children  remain  with  father  if 
he  cares  for  them,  otherwise  they  go  with  mother,  vii.,  172. 
Children  generally  follow  father  in  divorce,   x.,  335. 

Strictly  speaking,  there  is  no  tribe,   x.,  333. 

Property  is  individual  and  personal,  consisting  of  dug-outs, 
hunting  and  fishing  weapons,  skins,  x.,  335, 

Relatives  of  deceased  distribute  his  property  to  his  friends. 


288  The  Family 

They  are  averse  to  taking  possession  of  it  themselves.  H.  &  D. 
vii.,  379.  Possessions  of  the  dead  thrown  into  the  sea  or  burned, 
vii.,  1 76.  Hut  where  death  occurred  generally  burned  and  locality 
abandoned.  Name  of  deceased  no  longer  applied  to  any  ho- 
monymous locality  or  person.  H.  &  D.  vii.,  379.  Only  ghosts 
of  criminals  believed  in.  Much  feared.  They  seek  to  harm 
living,   x.,332. 

In  revenging  a  murder,  victim  need  belong  only  to  murderer's 
group,  vii.,  177.  Sometimes  a  murderer's  life  is  spared  and  he 
is  severely  beaten  and  forced  to  make  many  presents  to  the 
relatives  of  the  deceased,  vii.,  177. 

Central  Australians  : 

Totemic  system  based  upon  idea  of  reincarnation  of  Alcheringa 
ancestors,  who  were  actual  transformations  of  animals  and  plants, 
or  of  clouds,  water,  fire,  wind,  sun,  moon,  and  stars,  p.  127.  In 
many  Australian  tribes  it  seems  to  be  a  general  custom  that  a 
man  must  not  eat  or  injure  his  totem,  whereas  amongst  Arunta 
there  are  special  occasions  on  which  totem  is  eaten  and  there  is 
no  rule  absolutely  forbidding  eating  of  totem  at  other  times, 
though  it  is  clearly  understood  that  it  must  only  be  partaken  of 
very  sparingly,  p.  73.  Each  totem  has  its  own  ceremonies,  and 
each  of  the  latter  may  be  regarded  as  property  of  some  special 
individual  who  has  received  it  by  right  of  inheritance  from  its 
previous  owner,  such  as  father  or  elder  brother.  (He  may  also 
have  received  it  directly  from  one  of  the  men  who  are  sup- 
posed to  possess  the  faculty  of  holding  intercourse  with  the 
spirits,  p.  278.)  In  one  case,  office  of  Alatunja  descended  to 
a  man  from  his  father.  It  descended  to  him  and  not  to  his 
elder  brother  because  he  was  born  a  water  man,  while  woman 
who  is  mother  of  both  of  them  conceived  elder  one  in  an  opossum 
locality.  If  the  old  Alatunja  had  had  no  son  of  the  right  totem, 
then  office  would  have  descended  to  one  of  his  blood  brothers — 
always  provided,  of  course,  he  were  of  the  right  totem, — and 
failing  such  a  one,  to  some  tribal  brother  or  son  of  the  water 
totem  as  determined  upon  by  the  elder  men,  or,  more  probably 
still,  by  the  old  Alatunja  before  his  death,  pp.  190-191. 

Without  belonging  to  the  same  group,  men  who  inhabit  locali- 
ties close  to  one  another  more  closely  associated  than  men  living 
at  a  distance  from  one  another.      Contiguous  groups  constantly 


The  Primitive  Simple  Family  289 

meeting  to  perform  ceremonies,  p.  14.  Whole  area  over  which  a 
tribe  extends  divided  up  into  a  large  number  of  localities,  each 
of  which  is  owned  and  inhabited  by  a  local  group  of  individuals, 
and  each  such  locality  is  identified  with  some  particular  totem 
which  gives  its  name  to  members  of  local  group,  p,  277.  Most 
extensive  of  local  totemic  groups  described  consists  of  40  individ- 
uals, and  area  of  which  they  are  recognised  as  proprietors  extends 
over  about  one  hundred  square  miles,  p,  9.  Each  tribe  speaks 
a  distinct  dialect  and  regards  itself  as  possessor  of  country  in 
which  it  lives,  p.  7. 

Point  Barrow  Eskimo  : 

Population  of  village  of  Utkiavwin  was  about  140,  of  Nuwuk 
about  150  or  160  (in  1853,  309).  p.  43.  In  summer  they  live 
in  tents,  usually  in  small  camps  of  four  or  five  tents  each.  p.  83. 
Two  families  usually  occupy  a  house,  each  woman  having  one 
end  of  room  and  her  own  mat.  Some  houses  contain  but  one 
family  and  others  more.  A  house  at  Utkiavwin  contained  a 
father,  his  wife  and  adopted  daughter,  two  married  sons,  each 
with  his  wife  and  child,  his  widowed  sister  with  her  son  and  his 
wife  and  one  little  girl.  p.  55.  Seniority  gives  precedence  when 
there  are  several  women  in  one  hut.   p.  427. 

Not  the  slightest  trace  of  clan  or  tribal  organisation,  p.  42. 

Owners  of  the  boats  more  thrifty  and  intelligent,  better  traders 
and  usually  better  hunters,  as  well  as  physically  stronger  and 
more  daring.  Have  more  influence  and  respect,  but  appear  to 
have  absolutely  no  authority  outside  of  their  own  families,  p.  429. 
Smaller  animals,  birds,  reindeer,  etc.,  are  property  of  hunter. 
Larger  seals  and  walruses  divided  among  boat's  crew,  owner  of 
the  boat  apparently  keeping  tusks  and  perhaps  skin.  A  bear  is 
equally  divided  among  all  who  had  a  hand  in  any  way  in  the  killing. 
Whalebone  equally  divided  among  crews  of  boats  in  sight  at  time 
of  killing.  All  comers  have  a  right  to  all  flesh,  blubber,  and  black 
skin  that  they  can  cut  off.  The  finder  of  drift-wood  is  its  owner 
and  puts  his  own  mark  upon  it.  p.  428. 

Various  implements  belonging  to  deceased  broken  and  laid 
beside  corpse  and  the  sled  is  sometimes  broken  and  laid  over  it. 
Sometimes  sled  is  left  for  one  moon  near  the  cemetery,  after 
which  it  is  brought  back  to  the  village,  p.  424. 

19 


290  The  Family 

Behring  Strait  Eskimo  : 

One  village  contained  about  20  houses  and  about  125  people. 
Another  about  100  people,  another  20,  another  150.  pp.  250-252. 
From  one  to  three  families  may  occupy  platforms  in  single  room 
which  the  house  contains.  But  each  quite  independent  in  its 
arrangements,   p.  288. 

No  recognised  chiefs  except  such  as  gain  a  certain  influence 
over  fellow-villagers  through  superior  shrewdness,  wisdom,  age, 
wealth,  or  shamanism.  The  old  men  are  listened  to  with  re- 
spect and  there  are  usually  one  or  more  in  each  village  who  by 
their  extended  acquaintance  with  traditions,  customs,  and  rites 
connected  with  festivals,  as  well  as  being  possessed  with  an 
unusual  degree  of  common  sense,  are  deferred  to  and  act  as  chief 
advisers  of  community,  p.  304.  Head  man  of  village  has  no 
fixed  authority,  but  he  is  respected  and  his  directions  as  to  move- 
ments and  occupations  of  villagers  generally  heeded,  p.  304. 
Jealousy  of  anyone  who  accumulates  property;  consequently  rich 
men  in  order  to  retain  public  good-will  forced  to  distribute  food 
and  other  presents  at  festivals  and  thus  create  a  body  of  depend- 
ents, p.  305.  Presents  from  strangers  always  handed  to  head 
men  of  village  who  divide  and  distribute  them  among  others,  p. 
287.  Sometimes  these  shrewd  and  rich  men  obtain  a  stronger 
influence  by  combining  offices  of  shaman  and  head  man.   p.  305. 

In  some  cases  a  head  man  may  be  succeeded  by  his  son  when 
latter  has  necessary  qualities,  p.  304.  Whatever,  with  a  few  ex- 
ceptions, a  man  makes  or  obtains  by  hunting  is  his  own.  p.  307. 
Stealing  from  same  village  regarded  as  wrong.  The  thief  is  made 
ashamed  by  being  talked  to  in  the  Kashiin  when  all  the  people 
are  present  and  in  this  way  frequently  forced  to  restore  articles. 
To  steal  from  a  stranger  or  from  people  of  another  tribe  not  con- 
sidered wrong  so  long  as  it  does  not  bring  trouble  to  community, 
p.  293.  If  a  man  borrows  from  another  and  fails  to  return  article, 
not  held  to  account  for  it  under  general  feeling  that  if  a  person 
has  enough  property  to  enable  him  to  lend  some  of  it  he  has  more 
than  he  needs,  p.  294.  Right  to  use  productive  places  for  setting 
seal  and  salmon  nets  individual  and  handed  down  from  father  to 
son.  After  the  father's  death  sons  use  these  places  in  common 
until  all  the  brothers  save  one  get  new  places,  p.  307.  The  part 
of  a  deceased  man's  property  that  is  not  placed  at  his  grave  is 


The  Primitive  Simple  Family  291 

divided  among  his  children  and  other  relatives,  former  usually 
receiving  larger  share.  Wife  generally  makes  distribution.  In 
some  cases,  however,  man's  blood-relatives  are  greedy.  They 
make  the  division  among  themselves,  leaving  very  little  for  family, 
p.  370.  Eldest  son  gets  the  least,  youngest  the  most  valuable 
things — /,  e.,  heirlooms,  father's  rifle,  p.  307.  At  a  man's  death 
his  sons  if  old  enough  support  family,  otherwise  they  are  cared 
for  by  relatives,  p.  307. 

Corpse  dressed  in  best  clothing  possessed,  if  possible  that  which 
has  never  been  worn.  p.  310.  Lower  Yukon:  The  people  so 
averse  to  having  a  corpse  in  the  house  that  relatives  frequently 
dress  the  person  in  the  new  burial  clothing  while  dying  that  he 
may  be  removed  immediately  after  death,  p.  314.  Corpse 
usually  raised  through  smoke-hole  in  roof,  never  taken  out  by 
doorway,  p.  311.  Totem  marks  drawn  on  grave  box,  etc.,  to 
mark  remains,  p.  311.  Use  of  grave  box  an  innovation,  but 
stated  that  it  was  useful,  for  it  kept  the  shades  from  wandering 
about  as  they  used  to  do.  If  deceased  was  disliked  or  without 
relatives  to  make  a  feast,  no  totem  markings  put  on  box.  p.  312. 
Anciently  arm  and  leg  sinews  of  a  dead  person  who  had  been  of 
evil  repute  were  cut  in  order  to  prevent  him  from  returning  to  the 
body  and  walking  at  night,  p.  423.  Deceased's  sleeping  place 
must  be  swept  clean  at  once  and  piled  full  of  bags,  etc.,  so  as  not 
to  leave  any  room  for  shade  to  return  and  occupy  it.  p.  315. 
Relatives  make  small  offerings  of  food  and  pour  water  on  ground 
after  grave  is  arranged,  p.  312.  At  grave  are  placed  deceased's 
knife,  flint  and  steel,  tinder  and  pouch  of  tobacco,  snuff-box  and 
tube.  In  case  of  a  woman,  her  workbag,  needles,  thread,  and  fish- 
knife  are  put  in  the  box  ;  her  wooden  pots,  etc.,  by  the  grave  ; 
and  to  the  corner  posts  are  hung  her  metal  bracelets,  deer-tooth 
belt,  and  favorite  wooden  dish.  p.  311.  In  case  of  a  very  bad  man, 
no  weapons  or  marks  of  respect  placed  near  grave,  no  feast  to  his 
memory,  and  he  was  forgotten.  After  a  death  no  one  in  village 
permitted  to  work  for  one  day,  relatives  for  three  days.  p.  312. 
During  the  four  days  after  death  while  shade  is  believed  to  be 
still  about,  his  house-mates  must  keep  fur  hoods  drawn  over  their 
heads  to  prevent  his  influence  from  entering  their  heads  and  kill- 
ing them.  p.  315.  The  two  persons  who  slept  with  deceased  on 
each  side  must  not  on  any  account  leave  their  places,  otherwise 


292  The  Family 

shade  might  return  and  by  occupying  vacant  place  bring  sickness 
or  death  to  its  original  owner  or  to  inmates  of  house.  For  this 
reason  none  of  deceased  house-mates  permitted  to  go  outside 
during  four  days  following  the  death,  p.  315.  Use  of  any  edged 
or  pointed  instrument  especially  forbidden  to  avoid  cutting  or 
injuring  shade,  otherwise  it  would  become  very  angry  and  bring 
sickness  or  death  to  people.  Relatives  must  be  very  careful  not 
to  make  any  loud  or  harsh  noises  that  may  anger  or  startle  shade. 
p.  312.  Every  year  in  latter  part  of  November  or  early  in  Decem- 
ber a  feast  is  given  for  sole  purpose  of  making  offerings  of  food, 
water,  and  clothmg  to  dead  who  have  not  yet  been  honoured  by 
one  of  the  great  festivals.  Makers  of  this  feast  are  nearest  rela- 
tives of  those  who  have  died  during  preceding  year,  joined  by  all 
others  of  village  who  have  not  yet  given  a  great  feast  to  their  dead. 
Day  before  nearest  male  relative  goes  to  grave  of  deceased  and 
plants  before  it  a  newly  made  stake  upon  which  is  placed  a  small 
model  of  a  seal  spear,  or  if  a  woman,  a  wooden  dish.  This  is  the 
invitation  to  the  shade,  p.  ^6;^.  On  day  of  feast  no  one  allowed 
to  work.  All  work  with  sharp-edged  or  pointed  tools  prohibited 
for  fear  some  shade  may  be  injured  and  become  angry  and  harm 
the  people.  At  opening  song  of  invitation  shades  come  from 
their  graves  and  assemble  in  fire-pit  under  floor  of  Kashim. 
Thence  they  ascend  and  enter  bodies  of  their  namesakes,  thus 
obtaining  for  themselves  offerings  which  are  made  to  their  name- 
sakes. These  are  the  supplies  necessary  for  shades'  wants  in  the 
land  of  the  dead.  p.  364.  A  small  portion  from  every  dish  pre- 
pared for  feast  is  cast  down  on  floor.  Each  feast-giver  pours  a 
little  water  on  the  floor  so  that  it  runs  through  the  cracks.  In 
this  way  they  believe  spiritual  essence  of  the  entire  quantity  of 
food  and  water  from  which  small  portions  are  offered  goes  to  the 
shade.  This  essence  believed  to  be  transported  mysteriously  to 
abode  of  the  shades  and  thus  supplies  their  wants  until  time  of 
next  festival.  Rest  of  food  distributed  and  eaten  by  people  pres- 
ent, pp.  364-365.  During  festival  to  dead,  relatives  sing  that  ab- 
sent ones  are  missed  and  beg  them  to  return  to  their  friends 
who  are  lonely,  p.  348.  If  shade  of  a  man  is  to  be  honoured,  a 
lamp  is  placed  in  front  of  place  he  formerly  occupied  in  Kashim. 
Kept  burning  to  light  him  back  to  earth,  p.  364.  Chief  mourner, 
after  one  or  two  years,  commences  to  save  up  valuable  articles  for 
four,  six,  or  even  more  years,  until  property  may  be  worth  hundreds 


The  Primitive  Simple  Family  293 

of  dollars.  Other  villagers  doing  same  thing.  Finally,  at  holding 
of  a  minor  feast  to  the  dead,  relatives  plant  invitation  stakes,  and 
a  song  of  invitation  is  sung  at  the  minor  feast  to  shades  to  attend 
great  feast  the  following  year.  With  observance  of  great  feast  a 
person  is  supposed  to  have  done  his  entire  duty  to  the  shade  and 
may  abstain  from  making  any  further  feasts  to  his  honour,  p.  365. 
Duty  of  blood  revenge  belongs  to  nearest  male  relative.  If  a 
man  has  no  son,  then  his  brother,  father,  uncle,  or  whosoever  is 
of  nearest  kin  must  avenge  him.  Blood  revenge  a  sacred  duty. 
In  one  case  a  boy  of  fourteen  killed  a  man  who  had  murdered 
his  father  when  boy  was  an  infant,  p.  293. 

Central  Eskimo : 

If  distance  between  the  winter  and  summer  settlement  is  very 
great  or  when  any  particular  knowledge  is  required  to  find  out 
haunts  of  game,  there  is  a  kind  of  chief  in  the  settlement,  whose 
acknowledged  authority  is,  however,  very  limited.  Virtually 
limited  to  right  of  deciding  on  proper  time  to  shift  huts  from  one 
place  to  another,  but  the  families  are  not  obliged  to  follow  him. 
At  some  places  it  seems  to  be  considered  proper  to  ask  him 
before  moving  to  another  settlement  and  leaving  rest  of  tribe. 
He  may  ask  some  men  to  go  deer  hunting,  others  to  go  sealing, 
but  not  the  slightest  obligation  to  obey  his  orders,  p.  581. 

Every  family  allowed  to  settle  wherever  it  likes,  visiting  a 
strange  tribe  being  the  only  exception.  In  such  a  case,  new-comer 
has  to  undergo  a  ceremony  which  consists  chiefly  in  a  duel 
between  a  native  of  place  and  himself.  If  defeated,  he  runs  risk 
of  being  killed  by  those  among  whom  he  has  come.  p.  581. 

When  thought  to  be  dying,  patient  is  taken  out  to  a  special 
snow  house  or  hut.  If  a  person  should  die  in  a  hut  among  its 
inmates,  everything  belonging  to  hut  must  be  destroyed  or  thrown 
away,  even  tools,  etc.,  lying  inside,  becoming  useless  to  sur- 
vivors. Hut  where  death  takes  place  deserted  forever,  pp.  612— 
614.  A  man's  hunting  implements  and  other  utensils  placed  by 
side  of  grave;  pots,  lamps,  knives,  etc.,  by  the  side  of  a  woman's; 
toys,  by  that  of  a  child.  On  third  day  after  death,  relatives  visit 
grave  and  promise  to  bring  deceased  something  to  eat.  These 
visits  repeated  a  year  after  death  and  whenever  grave  is  passed 
in  travelling.  Sometimes  food  is  carried  to  the  grave  which  de- 
ceased is  expected  to  return  greatly   increased,    pp.   613-614. 


294  The  Family 

Sometimes  models  used  instead  of  objects  themselves.  A  case 
cited  of  a  young  girl  who,  dying,  asked  for  tobacco  and  bread, 
which  she  wished  to  take  to  her  mother,  who  had  died  a  few 
weeks  before,   p.  613. 

If  a  woman  die,  husband  leaves  his  children  with  his  parents- 
in-law  and  returns  to  his  own  family;  and  if  a  man  die,  his  wife 
returns  to  her  parents  or  her  brothers.  When  a  woman  dies 
after  children  are  grown,  widower  will  stay  with  them,  p.  580. 
Widows  with  their  children  adopted  by  nearest  relative  or  by  a 
friend  and  belong  to  the  family,  though  the  woman  retains  her 
own  fire-place,  p.  580.  The  wife's  mother  can  always  command 
a  divorce,  p.  579.  In  divorce,  children  generally  remain  with 
mother,  p.  580. 

Right  and  duty  of  nearest  relative  of  victim  to  kill  murderer. 
In  certain  quarrels  between  the  Netchillirmiut  and  Arfeillirmiut, 
in  which  murderer  himself  could  not  be  apprehended,  family 
of  murdered  man  has  killed  one  of  murderer's  relations  in  his 
stead,  p.  582.  If  a  man  has  committed  murder  or  made  himself 
odious  by  other  outrages,  he  may  be  killed  by  anyone  simply  as 
a  matter  of  justice.  Man  who  intends  to  take  revenge  on  him 
must  ask  his  countrymen  if  each  agrees  in  opinion  that  the 
offender  is  a  bad  man  deserving  death.  If  so,  he  may  kill  man 
thus  condemned,  and  no  one  allowed  to  avenge  murder,  p.  582. 

WVANDOTS  : 

If  mother  die,  children  belong  to  her  sister  or  her  nearest 
female  kin,  matter  being  settled  by  council  women  of  clan.  If 
father  die,  mother  and  children  cared  for  by  her  nearest  male 
relative  by  a  subsequent  marriage,  p.  64.  Wigwam  or  lodge  and 
all  articles  of  household  belong  to  woman  household  head.  A 
woman's  property  inherited  by  her  eldest  daughter  or  nearest 
female  kin.  Matter  settled  by  council  women,  A  man's  pro- 
perty consists  of  his  clothing,  hunting  and  fishing  implements,  and 
usually  a  small  canoe.  Except  such  portion  as  may  be  buried 
with  him,  it  is  inherited  by  his  brother  or  his  sister's  son.  p.  65, 

To  be  a  member  of  the  tribe  it  is  necessary  to  be  a  member  of 
a  clan.  To  be  a  member  of  a  clan  it  is  necessary  to  belong  to 
some  family.  To  belong  to  a  family  a  person  must  be  born  in  the 
family  or  adopted  into  the  family,  p.  60,     Seven  clans  :  Deer, 


The  Matriarchate  295 

Bear,  Highland  Turtle  (striped),  Highland  Turtle  (black).  Mud 
Turtle,  Smooth  Large  Turtle,  Hawk,  Beaver,  Wolf,  Sea  Snake, 
Porcupine,  p.  59.  There  is  a  body  of  names  belonging  to  each 
clan,  so  that  each  person's  name  indicates  clan  to  which  he  be- 
longs. Names  derived  from  the  characteristics,  habits,  attitudes, 
or  mythological  stories  connected  with  clan  ancestor,  pp.  59-60. 

Bear,  Deer,  and  Striped  Turtle  clans  constitute  one  phratry; 
Highland  Turtle,  Black  Turtle,  and  Smooth  Large  Turtle, 
another;  Hawk,  Beaver,  Wolf,  another,  p.  60. 

The  eleven  clans  as  four  phratries  constitute  tribe,  p.  60.  The 
four  women  councillors  of  clan  chosen  by  heads  of  households, 
themselves  being  women.  No  formal  election  but  frequent  dis- 
cussion is  had  over  the  matter  from  time  to  time,  in  which  a  sen- 
timent grows  up  within  clan  and  throughout  tribe  that  in  event  of 
death  of  any  councillor  a  certain  person  will  take  her  place,  p. 
61.  These  four  councillors  select  a  chief  of  the  clan  from  its 
male  members.  He  is  head  of  the  council,  p.  61.  Clan  councils 
held  frequently  from  day  to  day  and  from  week  to  week,  and 
called  by  the  chief  whenever  deemed  necessary,  p.  62.  Some- 
times a  grand  council  of  clan  composed  of  councillors  proper 
and  all  heads  of  households  and  leading  men.  p.  61.  Each  clan 
has  its  own  area  for  cultivation.  Its  boundaries  settled  by  tribal 
council.  Women  councillors  partition  clan  land  among  house- 
holders. Heads  of  households  responsible  for  its  cultivation,  and 
should  this  duty  be  neglected  clan  council  calls  responsible  par- 
ties to  account,  p.  65.  Cultivation  communal.  Head  of  house- 
hold sends  her  brother  or  son  into  the  forest  or  to  the  stream  to 
bring  in  game  or  fish  for  a  feast.  Then  able-bodied  women  of  clan 
invited  to  assist  in  cultivation  of  land,  and  when  this  work  is  done 
a  feast  is  given.  Land  re-partitioned  once  in  two  years.  Large 
canoes  made  by  male  members  of  clan  and  are  clan  property. 
Each  clan  has  a  right  to  service  of  all  its  male  members  in  avenging 
wrongs,  p.  65.  In  case  of  theft,  when  prosecutor  and  prosecuted 
belong  to  same  clan,  trial  is  before  council  of  clan  and  from  it  no 
appeal.  If  they  belong  to  different  clans,  prosecutor  through 
head  of  his  household  lays  matter  before  his  clan,  council  of  the 
accused.  Thereupon  becomes  duty  of  council  for  accused  to  in- 
vestigate facts  for  themselves  and  settle  matter  with  council  of 
plaintiff.  Failure  to  do  this  followed  by  retaliation  in  seizing  of 
any  property  of  clan  which  may  be  found,  p.  66.     A  man  can  be 


296  The  Family 

declared  an  outlaw  by  his  own  clan,  who  thus  publish  to  tribe 
that  they  will  not  defend  him  in  case  he  is  injured  by  another. 
But  usually  outlawry  is  declared  only  after  trial  before  tribal 
council,  p.  67.  In  lowest  grade  of  outlawry,  declared  that  if 
man  shall  thereafter  continue  in  commission  of  similar  crimes  it 
will  be  lawful  for  any  person  to  kill  him;  and,  if  killed,  right- 
fully or  wrongfully,  his  clan  will  not  avenge  his  death.  Outlawry 
of  highest  degree  makes  it  duty  of  any  member  of  tribe  who  may 
meet  with  offender  to  kill  him.  p.  68. 

Tribal  council  composed  of  aggregated  clan  councils.  Com- 
posed therefore  one-fifth  of  men  and  four-fifths  of  women.  Tribal 
chief  chosen  by  clan  chiefs.  Sometimes  a  grand  council  of 
tribe  composed  of  council  of  tribe  proper  and  heads  of  house- 
holds and  leading  men  of  tribe,  p.  61.  The  military  council  is 
composed  of  all  able-bodied  men  of  tribe;  military  chief  chosen 
by  council  of  Porcupine  clan.  p.  68.  Sachem  of  tribe  selected 
by  men  belonging  to  council  of  tribe,  p.  62.  Tribe  has  right  to 
service  of  all  its  male  members  in  war,  p.  65. 


LECTURE  XIII 


THE    PATRIARCHATE 


T 


HE  original  extent  of  the  matriarchal  system^  has  Thematriarchatein 


Proof  of  transition 
from  matriarchate 
to  patriarchate 


^  been  the  subject  of  prolonged  controversy,  and  in 
connection  with  alleged  survivals  of  the  matriarchate 
is  still  a  moot  question.  Whatever  may  be  the 
genetical  relation  between  the  matriarchate  and  the 
patriarchate,  it  is  a  fact  that  certain  communities 
have  been  passing  under  recent  observation  from  the 
former  to  the  latter  stage,  whereas  a  transition  in  the 
contrary  sense  has  not  as  yet  been  observed.^ 

Indisputable  evidences  of  transition  from  one 
system  to  another  are :  (i)  Dependence  of  full 
marital  and  paternal  power  upon  actual  or  fictitious 
payment  of  a  bride-price;  (2)  the  practice  of  a  father 
purchasing  the  full  right  to  his  offspring  from  their 
maternal  kin  ;  (3)  the  practice  of  a  man  donating  pro- 
perty to  his  sons  during  his  lifetime  in  order  to  thwart 
the  claim  of  his  nephews  or  maternal  relatives  to  it  at 
his  death,  or  in  case  this  has  not  been  done  the  occur- 

'  Note  that  the  term  as  we  use  it  does  not  correspond  to  the  notion  of  mother- 
right  (Mutterreckt)  which  involves  female  supremacy  as  used  by  Bachofen  and 
his  fellow-controversialists.  On  the  other  hand,  it  more  or  less  corresponds  to 
the  same  term  as  used  by  Dargun  and  Grosse,  although  the  less  definite  term 
maternal  system  comes  nearer  expressing  their  concept  of  Mutterrecht;  for  in 
spite  of  their  theoretical  distinctions  between  matronymy  {Mutterfolge)  and 
matriarchate  {Matriarchat)  the  two  are  often  confused  by  them  in  their  use  of 
the  term  Mutterrecht.     See  note  on  controversial  literature.     Likewise  p.    24S 

^  Professor  Boas  believes  that  the  Kwakiutl  Indians  were  formerly  in  a 
paternal  stage,  and  that  their  maternal  system  of  descent  is  an  adaptation 
borrowed  from  their  northern  neighbours.  The  Social  Organisation  and  the 
Secret  Societies  of  the  Kwakiutl  Indians,  in  Smithsonian  Report,  1895,  pp. 
334-335. 

297 


298 


The  Family 


Organisation  of 
patriarchal  com- 
pound family 


The  monogamy  of 
poverty 


Concubinage 


High  birth-rate 

Condemnation  of 
Infaaticide,  etc. 


rence  of  a  struggle  for  his  property  between  his  sons 
and  his  nephews  at  his  death  ;  similarly  a  prescribed 
distribution  of  patrimony  between  offspring  and 
sisters'  children  ;  (4)  inheritance  of  rank — kingly, 
priestly,  etc. — from  father,  with  descent  of  property 
in  maternal  line,  or  vice  versa  inheritance  of  property 
in  paternal  and  of  rank  in  maternal  line ;  (5)  survivals 
of  the  avunculate  in  still  other  forms. 

There  are  besides  these  mixed  matriarchal  and 
patriarchal  forms  other  practices  which  are  perhaps 
less  readily  explained  as  transition  forms.  The 
children  may,  for  example,  be  divided  according  to 
various  rules  between  the  families  of  mother  and 
father.  Control  of  offspring  may  be  divided  between 
maternal  and  paternal  kinsfolk,  e.g.,  between  the 
mother's  brother  and  the  father.  In  matters  of  in- 
heritance by  remote  kinsfolk  the  system  may  also  be 
partly  maternal  and  partly  paternal. 

The  patriarchal  compound  family  is  monogamous 
or  polygynous.  Monogamy  is  due  more  to  poverty 
than  to  anything  else  (polyandry  may  even  exception- 
ally occur  from  poverty),  and  polygyny  is  an  indication, 
if  not  always  a  source,  of  wealth.  The  number  of 
wives  is  therefore  distinctly  proportionate  to  social 
pre-eminence.  There  is,  as  a  rule,  a  marked  subor- 
dination among  the  wives,  concubinage  being  well 
developed.  A  distinction  is  even  made  between  slave- 
girls  and  concubines.  The  number  of  wives,  tech- 
nically speaking,  may  be  limited,  irrespective  of 
rank,  while  that  of  concubines  or  slave-girls  is  un- 
limited or  prescribed  according  to  rank.  Offspring, 
particularly  male  offspring,  are  as  a  rule  greatly  de- 
sired, and  the  birth-rate  is  high.     Infanticide,  foeti- 


The  Patriarchate  299 

cide,  etc.,  are  condemned,  if  not  punished.     These 
practices  may  prevail,  however,  to  a  considerable  ex- 
tent from  a  number  of  motives.     Female  infanticide  Prevaienceoffemaie 
may,  in  particular,  be  practised.    Marital  and  paternal  J^J^^ruirard  atemai 
power  is  highly  developed,  although  in  the   case  of  power 
the  wife  it  may  be  to  a  certain  extent  restrained  by  a 
contract  with  her  family,  and  in  the  case  of  both  wife 
and  offspring   they,  with  their   husband-  or  father- 
master,  may  be  primarily  subordinate  to  the  head  of 
the  patriarchal  kin.     It  is  this  subordination   to  the  Distinction  between 
patriarchal  kinship  head,  whether  he  be  husband  or  fatherrightin 

*•  A  primitive  pairing 

father  or  not,  that  distinguishes  the  patria  potestas  and  in  patriarchal 
of  the  patriarchal  family  from  the  male  mastery  of 
the  primitive  simple  family.      In  the  former  family, 
moreover,  all  members  of  the  household,  wives,  con- 
cubines, slaves,  and  even  clients  or  guests,  occupy 
more  or  less  the  same  position  as  that  of  offspring. 
Through  the  fiction  of  adoption  they  fall  under  the  Fiction  of  adoption 
patria  potestas  of  the  pater  f ami  lias.     Lactation  lasts  Lactation 
as  a  rule  for  two  years  or  less.     Parental  discipline  is  chiid.discipune 
much  more  developed  than  in  the  matriarchal  family. 
Daughters  are  married  off  when  nubile.     They  have  Age  at  marriage 
little  or  no  choice.     Betrothal  during  the  infancy  and 
childhood  of  both  sexes   is  frequent.      The   age  at 
marriage  of  youths  varies  from  eighteen  to  twenty- 
four,  or  even  older,  but  as  an  immediate  result  of 
ancestor-worship,  it    is   frequently   more  or  less   re- 
quired before  an  arbitrarily  fixed  age.     It  is  often  the  Duty  of  procuring 
duty  of  the  father  or  paternal  kin  to  procure  or  aid  in  '^'''" 
procuring  a  wife  for  sons  or  younger  male  relatives. 
Marriage  by  purchase  is  well  developed,  the  bride-  Marriage  by 
price  being  as  a  rule  closely  stipulated.     It  may  be  Dower Ind dowry 
accompanied,    however,    by   exchange    gifts,    and   a 


;oo 


The  Family 


Divorce 


Disposal  of  offspring 
in  divorce 


Corptrate  responsi- 
bilit/ 


Right  of  leaving 
family 

Property 


Subsistence 


Ancestor-worship 


settlement  may  be  made  on  the  bride  for  her 
children  or  for  her  own  benefit  in  case  of  divorce 
or  widowhood.  Women,  however,  do  not  administer 
property.  Divorce  is  more  or  less  strictly  regu- 
lated, being  allowed  only  as  a  rule  for  stated  offences 
or  failings.  In  case  of  barrenness  or  female  births 
only  it  may  be  required.  The  wife's  rights  in  the 
matter  are  much  more  limited  than  the  husband's.  In 
case  of  divorce  offspring  always  remain  in  the  paternal 
home  unless  they  are  at  the  breast  or  very  young. 
In  this  case  they  may  temporarily  accompany  their 
mother  to  her  home,  sometimes  living  there  at  their 
father's  expense. 

As  in  the  matriarchal  group,  the  group  or  the  group- 
head  is  responsible  for  the  acts  of  group  members,  for 
their  debts,  fines,  etc.  The  group  is  called  upon  to 
pay  composition  or  ransom  for  its  guilty  or  captured 
members.  Members  frequently  are  not  allowed  to 
leave  the  group  without  the  latter's  consent.  Exile 
from  the  group  is  often  the  severest  form  of  punish- 
ment. Lands,  houses,  cattle,  and  chattels  of  various 
kinds  may  be  owned  in  common,  or,  to  a  certain  ex- 
tent, in  severalty.  Conditions  of  production  vary 
greatly  under  patriarchal  organisation.  Their  differ- 
ences naturally  give  rise  to  differences  in  family  struct- 
ure. We  shall  discuss  this  subject  in  connection 
with  the  particular  types  of  patriarchal  organisation 
which  we  are  soon  to  consider. 

Highly  developed  ancestor-worship  is  or  has  been 
at  one  time  universal  among  patriarchal  peoples. 
Among  them  there  are  few  traces  of  totemism.  Phal- 
lic-worship, or  the  worship  of  the  principle  of  fertility 
in  nature,  is  in  its  influence  upon  the  family  the  most 


The  Patriarchate  301 

Important  of  the  forms  of  nature-worship  which  always 
co-exist  with    ancestor-worship.       In    developed   an-  Features  of 
cestor-worship,  instead    of  attempting  to  banish  the  ^"'="*°''-'^°''^*''p 
spirit  of  the  deceased,  as  in  more  primitive  ghost-ex- 
orcism,  so  to  speak,  his  spirit  is  called  back  by  cere- 
monial wailing,  and  innumerable  rites  are  performed  ceremonial  waning 
for  the  sake  of  his  comfort  or  prosperity.      Human  Destruction  of 
beings,  wives  or  slaves,  and  goods  of  various  kinds,  ^''°^"^y^^ 
or,  in  a  later  stage,  imitations  of  animate  or  inanimate 
chattels,  are  buried  or  burned  with  him  to  insure  him 
service  or  distinction  in  his  spirit-life.     This  custom  Effect  on  capital 
has  obviously  an  important  effect  upon  the  accumula- 
tion of  family  capital  and  upon  inheritance,  and  the 
substitution  of  models  for  actual  or  living  objects  or 
persons  is,  in  this  connection,  a  significant  advance  in 
ancestor-worship.     Moreover,  the  deceased  is  buried  The  tomb 
within  or  near  the  dwelling-place  of  the  living  rela- 
tives.    A  portion  of  the  mieals  of  the  living  may  be  sacrifice 
set  aside  for  him,  or  libations  and  food  offerings  may 
be  made  at  his  tomb  at  stated  periods.      He  is  pro- 
pitiated at  all  important  family  crises.     As  the  dead 
are  dependent  upon  the  living  for  the  performance  of 
their  funeral  rites  and  sacrificial  observances,  marriage  Marriage  and  repro. 
itself,  as  well  as  marrias^e  accordine  to  prescribed  con-  «i"'=tion  religious 

'^  01  duties 

ditions,  and  child  begetting  and  bearing,  become  re- 
ligious duties.  Marriage  ceremonial  not  infrequently 
takes  on  a  religious  character.  Infanticide,  abortion, 
celibacy  other  than  celibacy  of  a  sacerdotal  character, 
and  adultery,  become  sins.  The  punishment  of  the 
adulteress  is  particularly  severe,  although  in  some 
cases  her  value  as  property  may  guarantee  her  against 
punishment  by  death.  Belief  in  the  reincarnation  in 
the  family  of  a  deceased  ancestor  is  not  uncommon 


302  The  P""amily 

The  name  of  the  deceased  is  often  perpetuated  either 
by  giving  it  to  a  child  in  the  family  or  to  an  adult  who, 
with  the  name,  may  assume  special  obligations  of 
ceremonial  observance  in  relation  to  the  spirit  of  the 

Fictitious  adoption  deceased.  Various  forms  of  fictitious  adoption  are 
encouraged,  notably  the  levirate  or  ?tiyoga,  and  the 
appointfuent  of  the  daiighiers  son,  for  the  sake  of  se- 
curing a  son  to  continue  the  family  worship.  The 
head  of  the  household  is  a  priest.  He  may  be  assisted 
by  his  wife,  or,  in  case  of  polygyny,  chief  wife  and  by 
his  sons.  The  first-born  son  is,  as  a  rule,  the  chief  con- 
tinuator  of  the  family  worship  after  the  father's  death. 

Primogeniture  lu  vlrtue  of  hls  officc  hc  may  inherit  a  larger  portion 
of  the  patrimony  than  his  brothers.  At  marriage 
daughters  adopt  the  family  worship  of  their  husbands. 

Co-operation  of  Tlic  co-opcration  of  the  chief  Wife  or  house-mother  in 
the  family  cult  tends  to  give  her  a  position  of  respect 
and  dignity  in  the  family.  She  may  even  share  in 
the  control  of  offspring. 

Patriarchal  house-       A  patriarchal  family  may  form  a  house-  or  village- 

munuicr"'^""'        community.     A  household  consisting  of  a  patriarch, 

Patriarchal  family  his  wife  or  wives,  his  unmarried  daughters,  his  sons 
and  their  wives  and  children,  forms  the  group  usually 

Joint,  undivided       kuown    as    the  patriarchal   family.      If   the   brothers 

'^^""'^  and  their  descendants  customarily  remain  together  at 

the  death  of  their  parent  or  common  ancestor,  the 
group  is  frequently  referred  to  as  the  joint,  undivided 
family. 

Herding  peoples  The   so-called    patriarchal    family    is    found   both 

among  pastoral  and  agricultural  peoples.  It  is 
particularly   characteristic    of    herders.       The   herds- 

The tribe  mau's  tribe  may  be  comparatively  large,  containing 

from  five  hundred  to  several  thousand  persons ;  but 


The  Patriarchate  303 

the  families  are  as  a  rule   more  or  less  segregated 
because    of    the    exigencies    of    pasturage.       Tribal 
organisation,  however,  is  very  valuable  for  the  pur- 
pose of  offence  or  defence.     Land  is  held  in  common  Land 
by  the  tribe,  but  families  have  more  or  less  definite 
claims  of  pasture  in  definite  localities.     The  life  is  Migration 
necessarily  migratory  within  given  areas.     Both  agri-  supplementary 
culture  and  hunting  are  minor  modes  of  subsistence,  burning""  ^^'^ 
The  men  are  the  herders.     Women  rarely  have  any- 
thing to  do  with  the  cattle.     As  among  the  higher  Division  of  ubour 
types  of  hunters  women  cultivate  the  soil  and  carry  ''^"' 
on    the   household    work.      The   subjection    of   the 
women    is    particularly    marked.     This    condition    is 
probably   due    to  their  disassociation  from  herding, 
the  chief  source  of  subsistence.    At  majority,  eighteen 
to  twenty-one,  or  at  marriage,  a  son  may  be  given  a 
lot  of  cattle  and  sheep,  thereby  becoming  partly  in- 
dependent of  his  father  ;    but  as  a  rule  the  stock  is 
undivided   until  the  latter's  death.     There  is  com-  inheritance 
monly  equal  inheritance  of  patrimony  among  sons. 

The  joint  undivided  family  is  found  among  both  joint  undivided 
pastoral  and  agricultural  peoples,  although  it  is  far  '^^'"''^ 
more  characteristic  of  the  latter.     Stock  or  land  is  Land 
owned  or  worked  in  common  by  the  family  group. 
Theoretically,  title  to  real  property  may  be  vested  in 
the  village-community  or  over-lord,  and  land  may  be  Reapportioning 
reapportioned  from  time  to  time  or  at  stated  intervals. 
When  the  compound  family  is  itself  the  proprietor  of  partition 
the  land,  or  when  the  family  property  is  in  cattle,  a 
partition  may  or  may  not  be  provided  for.     In  the 
latter  event  it  may  be  carried  out  only  on  the  death 
of  the  father  or  with  his  consent  and  that  of  the  sons 
during  his  lifetime.     In  case  of  partition   the  eldest 


304  The  Family 

son   may  receive  a  larger   share   than  the  younger. 
Headship  The  eldest  son  or  eldest  brother  is  in  some  cases  the 

household  head,  in  others  the  head  is  appointed  by 
his  predecessor  or  elected  from  among  the  older  and 
more  competent  men.  In  some  cases  the  head  may 
be  deposed  for  mismanagement  or  incompetency. 
His  authority  may  also  be  limited  by  a  family  council. 
Village  community  As  iu  the  uiatriarchal  organisations,  a  single  patri- 
archal group  may  form  a  village  community,  or  the 
village  may  be  composed  of  several  patriarchal 
families  whose  heads  form  the  village  council. 
Transition  from  lu  the  village  community,  as  elsewhere,  the  tie  of 

8ocre'tV° """  kinship  tends  to  yield  to  the  tie  of  a  common  terri- 

tory. The  tribal  chiefs  becomes  a  district  chief  or 
king,  and  usurps  such  kinship  functions  as  punish- 
ment for  crimes,  protection  of  widows,  orphans,  etc., 
land  ownership  or  distribution,  etc.  Particularly 
notable  in  this  transition  from  ethnic  to  civil  society 
is  the  fact  that  arbitration  between  different  kins- 
folk groups  is  one  of  the  earliest  functions  of  these 
local  chiefs  ~  or  councils,  inter-family  law  being  more 
or  less  sharply  distinguished  from  law  within  the 
family. 
Kinship  survivals  J  ust  as  we  shall  see  in  the  following  lecture  that 
in  civil  societies  ^|^^^  developed  civilisations  of  to-day  still  show  traces 
of  the  compound  patriarchal  family,  so  it  is  notable 
that  all  the  earlier  historical  peoples  among  whom 
forms  of  the  compound  patriarchal  family  are  found 
show  traces  of  a  sometime  wider    kinship  organisa- 

'  For  a  suggestive  account  of  the  tendency  of  the  primitive  medicine-man 
likewise  to  take  on  chiefly  or  kingly  functions,  see  Frazer,  Lectures  on  the 
Early  History  of  the  Kingship,  London  and  New  York,  1905,  Lectures  IV.-V. 

"  See  p.        . 


The  Patriarchate  305 

tion.  Endogamous  or  exogamous  restrictions  based 
on  the  possession  of  the  same  family  name  irrespective 
of  recognised  blood  -  kinship,  customary  residence  of 
given  families  together  within  a  given  district,  the 
marshalling  together  of  given  families  for  war  or  ad- 
ministrative purposes,  the  joint  proprietorship  of 
certain  families  in  given  forms  or  places  of  religious 
worship  or  burial,  the  vesting  of  ultimate  rights  of 
inheritance  within  certain  groups  of  families,  all  these 
customs  point  to  pre -existent  kinship  solidarity 
between  the  families  in  question. 

NOTE  A 

Coexistence  of  Matriarchate  and  Patriarchate. 
Dargun,  Mutterrecht  u?id  Vaierrecht,  i.,  chap.  vii. 

The  Family  among  Pastoral  Peoples. 

Grosse,  Die  Formen  der  Familie,  etc.,  chap.  vi. 

A  Semi-Nomadic,  Pastoral,  Bachkir  Family. 

Le  Play,  Les  Ouvriers  Europe'ens,  Tours  and  Paris,  1877, 
ii.,  chap.  i. 

The  Family  among  Agricultural  Peoples. 

Grosse,  Z>/^  Formen  der  Familie,  etc.,  chaps,  viii.-ix. 

Agricultural  Patriarchal  Families  in  South  and  Central 
Russia. 

Le  Play,  Les  Ouvriers  Europe'ens,  ii.,  chaps,  ii.  and  v. 

The  Joint,  Undivided  Family. 

Lavelaye,  De  la  PropriHe  et  de  ses  formes  primitives,  Paris, 
1891,  chaps,  xxix.-xxxii. 

Le  VXdiy^L' Organisation  de  la  famille,  pp.  213-294. 

South  Slavic  House  Communities. 

Krauss,  Sitte  und  Branch  der  Siidslaven,  sees,  iv.-viii. 

A  Syrian  House  Community. 

Le  Play,  Les  Ouvriers  Eur opeens,  ii.,  chap.  viii. 


0 


o6  The  Family 


Ancestor-Fear  and  Worship. 

Steinmetz,  Ethnologische  Studien,  etc.,!.,  151-250. 
Schurtz,   IVertvernichtung  durch  den   Totenkult   in   Zt.  f. 
Socialwissenschaft^  i.  (1898),  41-52. 

De  Groot,    The  Religious  System  of  China,  vol.  ii. 

Li  Kt,  xxvii.,  120-208,   xxviii.,  40-59,    132-168,  173-209, 

363-394. 
Hearn,  The  Aryan  Household,  chaps,  ii.-iv. 
De  Coulanges,  77/^  Ancient  City,  Boston,  1901,  pp.  15-110. 

Ancestor-Worship  and  Inheritance   in  the  Patriarchal 
Family. 

Maine,  Early  Law  and  Custom,  chap.  iv. 

Survivals  of  Totemism. 

Jevons,  An  Introduction  to  the  History  of  Religion,    Lon- 
don and  New  York,  1896,  chap.  x. 
The  Village  Community. 

Baden-Powell,  The  Indian  Village  Community,  pp.  398-423. 
Kovalevsky,   Tableau  a'es  Origines  et    de  /'  Evolution  de  la 
Fatnille  et  de  la  Proprie'ti,  Stockholm,  1890,  pp.  1 62-181. 

Hildebrand, -^<?^///  und  Sitte  auf  den  verschiedenen  kultur- 
stufen,  pp.  57-140. 

(Argument  that  tamily  and  not  village  communities  charac- 
terised the  Germans  of  Caesar  and  Tacitus.) 
Russian  Village  Communities. 

Lavelaye,  De  la  Propriety,  etc.,  chap.  ii. 
Clan  Survivals. 

Hearn,  The  Aryan  Household,  pp.  113-136,  453-478. 
Seebohm,  The  Tribal  System  in  Wales,   London  and  New 
York,  1895,  pp.  54-110. 

Seebohm,  Tribal  custom  in  Anglo-Saxon  Law,  London,  New 
York,  and  Bombay,  1902,  chap,  xv. 

Among  South  Slavs. 

Krauss,  Sitte  und Brauch  der  SUdslaven,  sec,  iii. 

NOTES 

The  Patriarchal  Theory. 

General   review   of  theory,  Howard,  A  History  of  Matri- 
monial Institutions,  i.,  9-32. 


The  Patriarchate  307 

Primevally  the  father  is  absolutely  supreme.  The  Roman 
patria  potestas  is  the  type  of  this  paternal  authority.  Primi- 
tive society  was  made  up  of  an  aggregation  of  families  pre- 
sided over  by  these  male  heads,  and  enlarged  by  strangers 
through  the  fiction  of  adoption.  Maine,  Ancient  Law,  pp. 
122-138. 

Criticisms  of  Maine's  Theory.  Spencer,  Principles  of 
Sociology,  i.,  686-713. 

Examination  and  alleged  refutation  of  Maine's  theory. 
Polyandry  and  matronymy  were  the  first  forms  of  marriage 
and  of  the  reckoning  of  kinship.  McLennan,  The  Patriar- 
chal Theory,  p.  355  znd  passim. 

The  tribe  and  clan  with  group  marriage  and  matronymic 
descent  existed  before  the  family,  individual  and  patriar- 
chal. Giraud-Teulon,  Les  Origines  du  Mariage  et  de  la  Fam- 
ille,  Geneva  and  Paris,  1884,  pp.  393,  475,  483. 

The  clan  is  always  composed  of  single  families.  The 
family  never  developed  from  the  clan.  Grosse,  Die  Formen 
der  Fatnilie,  etc.,  p.  207. 

Mother-right  is  an  outcome  rather  than  an  antecedent  of 
father-right.     Hildebrand,  Recht  und  Sitte,  etc.,  pp.  16-22. 

In  spite  of  matronymy  male  power  was  supreme  in  the 
primitive  family.  Wake,  The  Primitive  Human  Family,  in 
/.  A.  I.,  xi.,  3-19. 

The  maternal  (matronymic  and  matriarchal)  system  de- 
velops before  the  paternal  (patronymic  and  patriarchal);  the 
argument  being  geological.  There  are  survivals  of  the  ma- 
ternal system  in  the  paternal  ;  e.  g.,  couvade  and  widow- 
inheritance  by  brothers,  but  no  survivals  of  the  paternal 
in  the  maternal  system.     Tylor,  On  a  Method,  etc.,  p.  256. 

The  maternal  (matronymic  and  matriarchal)  system  is 
prior  to  the  paternal.  Disintegration  of  the  family  from  the 
totem  group  leads  to  paternal  control.  Subdivisions  of  the 
totem  group  become  patronymic.  Kohler,  Zur  Urgeschichte 
der  Ehe  in  Zt.  /.  vergleichende  Rechtswissenschaft,  xii., 
239-241. 

The  Existence  of  Matronymy  and  Matriarchate  among 
THE  Aryans. 

Traces  of  them  exist  side  by  side  with  the  Aryan  patri- 


3o8  The  Family 

archate.     Dargun,  Mutterrccht    loid  Vaterrecht,    i.,    90-116. 

There  are  evidences  of  mother-right  (matronymy  and  matri- 
archate)  in  the  customs  of  medieval  witchcraft.  Pearson, 
The  Chances  of  Death  and  Other  Studies  in  Evolution,  London 
and  New  York,  1897,    ii.,  1-50. 

Alleged  avunculate  among  the  Germans  is  only  an  incipi- 
ent recognition  of  maternal  kindred  alongside  the  prevailing 
paternal  system.  Feminine  right  to  property  is  only  a  dowry 
right.  Mother-right  never  existed  among  the  Indogermanic 
peoples.  Delbrtick,  Das  Mutterrecht  bei  den  Indogermanen 
in  Preussische  Jahrbiicher,  Ixxvii.  (1895),  14-27. 

The  Origin  of  Land-Ow^nership, 

Communal.  The  principle  of  private  property  in  land  be- 
came established  only  very  gradually,  and  comparatively  re- 
cently.    Lavelaye,  De  la  Proprit^td,  etc.,  pp.  3-4,  342-343. 

Communal  ownership  by  kinsmen.  Proprietorship  does 
not  arise  from  occupancy.  The  occupant  becomes  the  owner 
because  all  things  are  presumed  to  be  somebody's  property. 
Maine,  Ancient  Law,  pp.  256-272, 

It  is  individual  not  communal.  The  habit  of  «x/«if  a  piece 
of  land  leads  to  the  idea  of  the  right  to  use  it.  Dargun, 
Ursprung  und  Entwicklungs-  Geschichte  des  Eigenthums  in  Zt. 
f.  vergleichende  Rechtswisscnschaft,   vi,  115. 

In  view  of  the  multiformity  of  land  ownership  practices 
existing  side  by  side  among  closely  related  groups  schem- 
atism is  fallacious  in  treating  the  subject  of  the  development 
of  land  ownership.  Schurtz,  Die  Anfd?ige  des  Landbcsitzes  in 
Zt.f.  Social.,  iii.,  (1900),  245-255,  352-361. 

Disintegration  of  the  clan. 

When  with  numerical  increase  intensive  cultivation  and 
with  intensive  cultivation  private  property  in  land  de- 
velops, the  clan  organisation,  which  is  based  on  common 
ownership  of  land,  begins  to  disintegrate.  The  develop- 
ment of  industrial  occupations  through  individuals  excluded 
from  land-owning  scatters  the  clan  group.  The  juri- 
dical and  religious  features  of  the  clan  may  persist  long 
after  its  economic  features  have  disappeared.  Its  juridical 
function   goes  by  the  board  with  its  political  entity.      Fi- 


The  Patriarchate  309 

nally,  the  bond  of  a  common  religious  observance  is 
loosened  by  the  spread  of  a  state  religion.  .  .  .  The  di- 
vision of  labour  caused  by  the  development  of  industry 
was  the  death-blow  of  the  clan.  Grosse,  Die  Fornien  der 
Fafnilie,  etc.,  pp.  207-215. 

Due  to  the  rise  of  the  patriarchate.     Kautsky,  Die  Entste- 
hung  der  Ehe,  etc.,  p.  338. 

NOTE  C 

Make  a  comparative  study  of  inheritance  by  brothers  (tanistry) 
instead  of  by  sons.  Make  a  study  of  the  right  of  testament  in 
relation  to  changes  in  systems  of  inheritance.  Of  transitions,  in 
the  development  of  social  control,  from  control  by  kinship  groups 
to  that  by  territorial  groups.  Study  in  particular,  in  connection 
with  the  suppression  01  family  law,  the  custom  of  differentiating 
penalties  according  to  whethei  the  crime  is  committed  within  or 
without  the  kinsfolk  group. 

NOTE  D 

Melanesians  : 

Motlav:  Succession  of  chieftaincy  from  father  to  son.  Practi- 
cally, in  devolution  of  property  and  handing  on  of  religious  or 
magic  rites,  a  man  always  puts  his  son  into  his  own  place  as  far 
as  possible.  Thus  as  chieftaincy  was  a  matter  of  personal  pro- 
minence, son  would  be  likely  to  take  rank  of  father,  p.  55.  North- 
ern New  Hebrides  :  Similarly  a  man  inherits  from  father,  charms, 
magic  songs,  stones,  and  apparatus,  his  knowledge  of  way  to  ap- 
proach spiritual  beings,  as  well  as  his  property.  These  things 
give  him  chieftaincy,  pp.  56-57.  Florida  and  surrounding  Solo- 
mon Isls.:  Cultivated  land  thought  to  be  originally  cleared  by 
kin  division.  Portions  occupied  by  hereditary  succession,  from 
maternal  uncles  to  nephews,  by  families  within  kin  division,  by 
an  original  agreement  which  has  now  come  to  be  a  right.  When 
a  man  makes  a  clearing  in  the  bush  or  plants  fruit-trees,  this 
personally  secured  property  may  pass  from  father  to  son.  A  man 
before  his  death  will  direct  that  his  canoe  is  to  go  to  his  son,  and 
he  will  receive  it,  otherwise  son  and  nephew  will  each  claim,  and 
stronger  will  get  it.     A  rich  man's  money  divided  among  brothers, 


3IO  The  Family 

nephews,  and,  if  they  can  get  any,  his  sons,  a  fruitful  source 
of  quarrels.  A  man's  wife,  in  prospect  of  his  death,  would  hide 
a  good  deal  of  his  money  to  appropriate  it  later  for  herself  and 
sons.  Banks'  Isl. :  Common  to  make  arrangements  by  which  a 
man's  children  succeed  him  with  consent  of  heirs  at  law,  ;.  e., 
his  sisters'  children  or  his  brothers'.  Sometimes  a  man  before 
his  death  begs  his  brothers  not  to  disturb  his  son  in  his  garden. 
To  secure  a  transaction  of  this  kind,  son  will  put  money  for  re- 
demption of  garden  upon  father's  corpse  when  he  is  laid  out  for 
burial.  Legal  heirs  take  the  money  before  witnesses,  thereby 
giving  up  their  right.  When  a  young  man  makes  his  home,  he 
builds  on  property  of  his  kin.  Youngest  son  remains  with  mother 
and  keeps,  after  father's  death,  the  house.  Personal  property — 
pigs,  money,  canoes,  ornaments,  weapons,  etc. — goes  to  the  child- 
ren generally.  Pigs  will  be  claimed  by  deceased's  kinsmen, 
however,  unless  they  are  bought  off,  or  unless  father  has  explicitly 
left  them  to  his  children  before  death.  Araga  :  Everything 
except  what  father  has  given  to  son  before  death  goes  to  sister's 
son.  Lepers'  Isl.:  Real  property  inherited  by  sons,  personal,  by 
kinsmen,  a  choice  pig  and  a  larger  share  of  other  things  being 
given  to  sister's  son.   pp.  59-68. 

Araga  :  A  firstborn  son  remains  10  days  in  house  of  birth 
while  father's  kinsmen  bring  food  to  mother  ;  on  tenth  day,  father 
gives  them  food  and  money.  They  lay  upon  infant's  head  mats 
and  strings  with  which  pigs  are  tied.  Father  says  that  he  accepts 
this  as  a  sign  that  hereafter  they  will  help  and  feed  his  son. 
Banks'  Isl.  :  On  birth  of  firstborn  son,  a  noisy  and  playful  fight 
arises.  Father  buys  off  assailants  with  payment  of  money  to  kin 
division  of  mother  and  son.  p.  231. 

No  tribes,  p.  2. 

Florida:  Each  kin  division  has  its  peculiar  tindalo^  god,  whom 
they  vaguely  call  their  ancestor,  p.  132.  Saa  :  When  landing  on 
an  uninhabited  islet  or  in  any  danger,  natives  throw  food  and 
call  on  father,  grandfather,  and  deceased  friends.  First  fruits 
offered  to  ghosts  of  ancestors.  Solomon  Isls.  :  Sacrifices  offered 
to  ghosts  of  ancestors  as  well  as  of  powerful  men.  pp.  136-139. 
Aurora  Isl.:  If  a  man  lose  his  pig,  he  will  go  to  grave  of  a  kins- 
man and  put  a  tuft  of  croton  leaves  upon  it,  saying  "  give  me 
backmypig."  p.  143.  Motlavlsl.  :  Ancestral  ghosts  invoked  for 
protection  on  the  sea,  in  starting  on  a  journey,  p.  148.     Malanta  : 


The  Patriarchate  311 

Sacred  places  of  sepulture  where  ancestral  ghosts  are  sacrificed 
to.  p.  177.  Saa,  Malanta  :  The  body  of  a  great  man,  of  a  man 
much  beloved  by  his  son,  is  hung  up  in  a  canoe  in  son's  house. 
Also  very  favourite  children  and  sometimes  wives.  When  wife  is 
finally  taken  out  to  burial  ground  her  jaw  or  one  of  her  teeth  will 
be  kept  in  the  house  as  a  memorial,  pp.  261-262.  Banks'  Isl.: 
Water  and  roasted  yams  placed  on  grave.  Also  dead  pigs  to 
accompany  to  ghost-land.  Ureparapara  :  Five  days  after  death 
ghost  is  driven  away  by  beating  together  charmed  stones  and 
bamboos,  etc.  Motlav  :  Ghost  driven  away  when  deceased  was 
afflicted  with  ulcers  and  sores.  Death-feasts  in  all  the  isles.  At 
ordinary  meals  when  oven  is  opened,  a  bit  of  food  is  put  aside 
for  dead,  with  words  "  This  is  for  you,  let  our  oven  be  well 
cooked."  Death  meals  also  eaten  every  tenth  day  to  the  hundredth 
or  thousandth,  pp.  261-264,  268,  270-272,  282. 

Duty  of  groom's  relatives  to  help  him  with  bride-price,  p.  237. 

Ewe-Speaking  Peoples  : 

Order  of  succession  to  property  is  eldest  brother,  sister's  eldest 
son,  etc.     Eldest  brother  head  of  family,     p.  207. 

Family  members  have  a  right  to  be  fed  and  clothed  by  family 
head,  who  has  a  right  to  pawn  and,  in  some  cases,  sell  them. 
Family  collectively  responsible  for  crimes  committed  by  mem- 
bers. Each  member  assessiblc  for  compensation,  and  each  re- 
ceives a  share  of  compensation  for  a  crime  or  injury  against  any 
member,  p.  208.  If  a  wife  be  involved  in  litigation  she  involves 
her  uterine  family  but  not  her  husband.  If  a  family  bury  a  de- 
ceased member,  they  become  responsible  for  all  his  debts.  To 
refuse  to  bury  is  considered  a  disgraceful  evasion  of  family  re- 
sponsibility, p.  216.  Land  belongs  to  the  tribe,  p.  209.  But  it 
is  portioned  out  to  families  who  have  undisturbed  usufruct  of  it. 
p.  217. 

In  upper  classes  in  Dahomi,  customary  to  exhume  skulls  of 
family  dead  after  a  number  of  years  and  place  them  in  earthen 
pots  in  a  corner  of  the  house.  Dead  appealed  to  for  advice  or 
assistance  before  these  skulls.  Sacrifices  of  men,  sheep,  rum,  water, 
etc.,  made  on  graves  of  deceased  kings  of  Dahomi.  pp.  111-112. 
At  death,  food  and  drink  placed  by  the  corpse,  which  is  buried  in 
the  earthen  floor  of  house.     Usually  water,  rum,  or  blood  poured 


312  The  Family 

on  grave.      Believed  that  soul  lingers  near  remains  until  funeral 
rites  are  performed,  pp.    158-159. 

In  cases  of  homicide,  theft,  rape,  assault,  etc.,  it  is  the  family 
of  person  who  has  suffered  that  can  alone  demand  and  exact  sat- 
isfaction. No  one  else  has  a  right  to  interfere.  Treason  and 
witchcraft  almost  only  offences  that  the  state  represented  by  tribal 
or  village  chief  takes  cognisance  of.  Chief  called  in  to  arbitrate 
when  families  cannot  agree  on  reparation.  Injured  family  assesses 
its  damages.  No  fixed  scale.  Family  itself  deals  with  its  erring 
member.     {^The  Yoruba- Speaking  Peoples,  pp.  300-301.) 

Tshi-Speaking  Peoples  : 

In  default  of  nephews,  son  inherits.  Lacking  a  son,  principal 
native-born  slave  succeeds  to  property.  In  Fanti  slave  succeeds 
to  exclusion  of  son,  who  inherits  only  property  of  his  mother. 

P-  298. 

Head  of  a  family  has  right,  with  certain  exceptions,  to  pawn 
any  of  his  relatives,  p.  294.  Family  of  a  deceased  member  in 
debt  sometimes  makes  a  present  to  the  chiefs  and  delivers  corpse 
to  them  for  burial.  This  is  a  legal  discharge  of  their  responsi- 
bility to  bury  and  pay  the  debts,  but  considered  a  highly  disgrace- 
ful step.  pp.  299-300.  Death  of  culprit  and  death  or  enslavement 
of  his  relatives  the  punishment  for  procuring  death  of  a  person 
through  witchcraft,  p.  203.  Land  attached  to  stool  of  the  king, 
and  in  each  province  to  stool  of  the  provincial  chief,  subject 
to  king,  by  whom  it  is  distributed  among  inhabitants  of  towns 
and  villages,   pp.  298-299. 

Tutelary  family  deities  obtained  from  superior  local  deities 
through  religious  rites  performed  by  a  priest.  Object  in  which 
family  god  is  supposed  to  dwell  kept  by  head  of  family.  When  a 
family  splits  up,  new  tutelary  gods  obtained  for  the  separating 
sections.  A  deceased  ancestor  may  also  appear  in  a  dream  and 
direct  his  relation  to  dwelling  place  of  the  Boksufn.  The  priest 
is  then  consulted.  Family  god  protects  family  from  sickness  and 
misfortune.  On  day  or  days  sacred  to  family  god,  no  work  or 
travelling  may  take  place.  Eggs,  fowls,  and  palm  oil  usual 
offerings  during  this  festival,  p.  89-94. 

At  death  all  the  most  valuable  articles  belonging  to  deceased 
placed  around  corpse,  and  dish  preferred  in  life  placed  before  it. 
Among  southern  tribes,  body  buried  within  house.     This  prac- 


The  Patriarchate  3^3 

tice  now  prohibited  on  coast.  Coffin  contains  an  outfit  for  de- 
parted spirit  of  silk  cloths,  pipes,  sandals,  etc.,  amounting  in 
value  in  case  of  wealthy  persons  to  p^2oo  or  ;j^3oo.  Rum,  food, 
and  tobacco  also  placed  in  coffin.  Sacrifices  of  food,  sheep,  or 
bullocks  made  on  grave.  Food  and  palm-wine  placed  daily  on 
grave  for  some  months,  pp.  238-242. 

In  family  divisions  priest  usually  announces  that  it  is  the  will 
of  original  family  god  that  departing  members  should  hereafter 
abstain  from  a  certain  food  in  his  remembrance,  pp.  212-213. 
Families  also  have  animal  totems.  Flesh  of  a  totem  animal  may 
not  be  eaten  by  family.  The  only  tribute  paid  to  the  animal, 
pp.  204-207. 
Yoruba-Speaking  Peoples  : 

Sons  inherit  father's  property.  Lacking  sons,  a  man's  brothers, 
and  lacking  brothers,  sisters  inherit.  Succession  to  property  en- 
tails obligation  of  defraying  debts  of  deceased,  p.  177.  Usufruct 
of  land  inherited.  Land  vested  in  chief  and  belongs  to  com- 
munity collectively.  Chief  distributes  it.  p.  188.  Houses  belong 
to  family  and  cannot  be  sold  without  consent  of  whole,  p.  189. 
Property,  houses,  family  gold  ornaments,  insignia,  stools,  etc., 
vested  in  households,  not  in  families,  p.  99.  No  collective 
family  responsibility.  Head  of  family  cannot  pawn  younger 
members  and  latter  cannot  claim  to  be  supported  by  him. 
p.  177.  Only  minor  offences  left  to  family  to  deal  with.  Theft 
punished  by  state.  Punishment  falls  upon  guilty  individual,  not 
upon  kinship  group,  p.  99. 

Temples  of  tutelary  deities  of  families  or  households  near 
house-door  or  in  yard.  p.  99.  Egungun  is  a  disguised  man  sup- 
posed to  have  returned  from  Dead-Land.  After  a  funeral  he 
visits  relatives,  is  feasted  by  them,  and  brings  them  news  of  de- 
ceased, pp.  107-109.  Food,  drink,  cowries,  etc.,  placed  in  grave. 
A  goat  sacrificed.  Offerings  and  prayers  made  to  dead  from  time 
to  time.  Sometimes  deceased's  skull  exhumed  and  placed  in  a 
small  temple,  where  offerings  are  made  to  it.  p.  137.  At  death 
priest  sprinkles  room,  corpse,  and  spectators  with  holy  water, 
and  invokes  deceased  to  leave  house  on  his  journey  to  Dead- 
Land  as  soon  as  funeral  rites  are  performed,  pp.  155-156. 
Thompson  River  Indians  : 

In  domestic  affairs  each  male  member  of  age  had  a  right  to 


314  The  Family- 

express  his  opinion  or  give  his  advice,  although  in  most  cases 
father's  or  eldest  son's  advice  taken.  Father  and  eldest  son  seem 
to  have  been  looked  upon  as  highest  authorities,  although  custom 
required  that  they  should  not  do  anything  of  importance  to 
family  without  first  consulting  its  other  male  members,  p.  292. 
Each  family  had  certain  names,  and  no  one  but  members  of 
family  permitted  to  use  them.  p.  290. 

Some  villages  very  small,  consisting  of  two  or  three  families, 
while  others  are  large  and  contain  about  100  or  more  inhabitants, 
p.  174.  The  winter  houses,  lived  in  from  December  to  March, 
were  semi-subterranean  huts,  inhabited  by  groups  of  families  re- 
lated to  each  other,  who,  although  scattered  during  hunting  and 
fishing  season,  dwelt  together  during  winter.  These  dwellings 
rarely  number  more  than  three  or  four  at  one  place,  and  often 
there  was  but  a  single  house.  A  house  accommodated  from  15 
to  30  persons,  p.  192.  A  person  wishing  to  build  a  winter  house 
asked  all  his  neighbours  to  assist.  Frequently  20  or  30  people 
came,  so  that  building  was  sometimes  completed  in  a  single  day. 
They  were  given  food  by  owner  of  house,  whose  relatives  con- 
tributed from  their  store  of  provisions,  p.  192.  Brisket  and 
skin  considered  share  of  man  who  shot  deer,  while  rest  of  animal 
was  equally  divided  among  the  other  hunters,  p.  294. 

In  1858  entire  tribe  probably  numbered  at  least  5000.  p.  175. 
No  hereditary  chiefs,  rank  of  each  person  determined  by  his 
wealth  and  personal  qualities.  A  war  party  had  a  war  chief, 
who  was  the  one  considered  by  his  companions  best  qualified  to 
act  as  leader.  In  religious  ceremonies  a  capable  man  called 
"  chief  "  of  ceremonies  and  dances.  Orators  possessed  great  in- 
fluence, some  of  them  who  were  wise  and  wealthy  looked  upon  as 
chief  men  of  certain  large  districts.  The  people  negotiated 
through  them  with  strangers,  p.  289.  Fact  that  a  man  was  the 
son  of  a  chief,  of  a  man  noted  for  wealth,  wisdom,  oratorical 
powers,  or  prowess  in  war,  gained  him  a  certain  amount  of  popu- 
larity. If,  however,  he  failed  to  possess  or  attain  the  neces- 
sary qualifications,  he  was  not  called  "chief,"  nor  would  he 
be  considered  in  any  way  different  from  mass  of  people. 
Nevertheless  chieftaincy  has  descended  in  some  instances  from 
father  to  son  for  several  generations,  p.  289.  Land  looked  upon 
as  neither  individual  nor  family  property.    No  particular  hunting 


The  Patriarchate  3^5 

grounds  peculiar  to,  or  sole  property  of,  certain  families  or  bands. 
Each  band  had  their  usual  hunting  places,  naturally  those  parts 
of  country  nearest  their  respective  homes,  but  Indians  from 
various  villages  or  divisions  of  tribe  frequently  hunted  in  each 
others*  hunting  grounds,  and  were  not  considered  intruders. 
Hunting  territory  seems  to  have  been  considered  common  pro- 
perty of  whole  tribe.  If  a  person  not  related  to  a  Thompson 
Indian  were  caught  hunting,  trapping,  or  gathering  bark  or  roots 
within  the  recognised  limits  of  tribal  territory,  he  was  liable  to 
forfeit  his  life.  Salmon-fishing  stations  and  deer  fences  were  ex- 
ceptions ;  looked  upon  as  property  of  individual  who  built 
station  or  maintained  fence.  Members  of  one  division  of  tribe 
not  allowed  to  build  deer  fences  on  territory  of  another  division, 
pp.  293-294. 

Deer  fences,  fishing  stations,  and  eagles'  eyries  inherited  by  all 
male  children,  eldest  having  right  of  dividing  and  taking  his 
choice.  Sometimes  these  places  used  by  all  the  sons  in  common, 
until  some  died,  survivor  claiming  all,  and  his  sons  inheriting 
from  him.  If  a  man  died  without  sons,  nearest  male  relative 
took  his  hunting  places.  If  deceased  had  no  near  male  relatives, 
his  daughters  and  sons-in-law  inherited,  p.  294.  Property  of  a 
deceased  father  divided  among  his  sons,  daughters  also  some- 
times getting  a  share.  Property  also  often  divided  among  all 
relatives  of  age,  male  and  female,  cousins  included  ;  nearest 
kin  receiving  largest  shares,  and  males  taking  precedence 
of  females  ;  in  some  cases  taken  by  nearest  male  relatives,  to 
exclusion  of  all  others.  Sons  inheriting  property  of  father 
had  to  provide  for  mother,  p.  293.  Only  a  son  "  strong  in 
medicine "  would  ever  take  possession  of  deceased  father's 
medicine  bag,  weapons,  etc.   p.  328. 

Each  group  or  family  had  its  own  burial  ground,  p.  330. 
Weapons,  tools,  personal  ornaments,  and  "medicine  bag"  or 
guardian  spirit  of  deceased  either  buried  in  grave  or  hung  up 
near  it.  Weapons  after  being  broken  or  otherwise  damaged  also 
sometimes  hung  up  in  a  tree  near  by,  and  occasionally  some  of 
deceased's  clothes  and  fishing  utensils.  Deer  fence  of  a 
deceased  person  generally  burned,  a  new  one  being  erected 
by  his  heir  in  the  same  place.  If  deceased  had  dogs  or  horses, 
some   of  them  killed  and  their  skins   hung   up.     If  there  were 


J 


1 6  The  Family 


slaves,  some  of  them  either  killed  at  grave  and  their  bodies 
thrown  in,  or  they  were  forced  into  bottom  of  grave  and  buried 
alive.  Their  master's  corpse  placed  on  top  of  them.  p.  328. 
Among  Spences  Bridge  band  male  relatives  of  a  deceased 
adult  took  to  the  war  path  and  slaughtered  one  or  more  enemies, 
generally  Llooet.  If  a  stranger  were  among  them  some  one 
might  kill  him,  and  perhaps  bury  his  body  as  a  funeral  offering 
within  or  over  grave  of  one  of  his  relatives  who  had  recently 
died.  p.  335.  Lodge  in  which  an  adult  person  died  burned. 
Winter  house  purified  ;  but  if  two  or  more  deaths  occurred  in  it 
at  same  time  or  in  immediate  succession  then  house  invariably 
burned.  Most  of  household  utensils  of  a  deceased  person 
also  burned.  Nobody  could  with  impunity  take  possession  of 
bow  and  arrows,  long  leggings,  and  moccasins  of  a  dead  man. 
If  any  one  appropriated  first  of  these,  dead  man  would  come  back 
for  them,  and  in  taking  them  away  would  also  take  the  soul  of 
man  possessing  them,  thereby  causing  his  speedy  death.  If  either 
of  other  two  were  appropriated,  one  who  took  them  would  be 
visited  by  a  sickness  which  would  cause  his  feet  and  legs  to  swell 
enormously.  Not  safe,  except  for  a  person  who  has  a  strong 
guardian  spirit,  to  smoke  out  of  pipe  of  a  man  who  has  recently 
died.  The  tobacco  will  burn  up  in  it  faster  than  usual,  A  sign 
that  deceased  wishes  the  pipe.  pp.  331-332.  In  some  graves 
were  wooden  figures  carved  as  nearly  as  possible  in  likeness 
of  deceased  person,  whether  man  or  woman,  p.  329.  Guns  and 
other  things  slung  around  their  shoulders  ;  and  they  were  fre- 
quently dressed  in  clothes,  and  clothes  renewed  when  they  be- 
came worn.  On  these  occasions  a  feast  was  generally  given. 
These  figures  were  intended  to  keep  a  dead  relative  fresh  in 
memory  of  living,  to  show  respect  for  him,  and  to  show  that  dead 
had  living  relatives  who  were  above  the  common  people  as 
to  wealth,  and  able  always  to  renew  clothes  of  figure,  p.  330. 
Baskets  for  carrying  roots,  berries,  etc.,  of  a  deceased  woman 
hung  up  near  her  grave  or  some  part  of  mountain  which  she  had 
frequented.  Basket  always  damaged  first,  p.  328.  Wealthy 
Indians  opened  grave  of  a  relative  a  year  or  two  after  death, 
and  occasionally  in  succeeding  years.  Bones  gathered  up 
each  time,  and  put  in  a  new  skin  robe  or  blanket,  after  being 
carefully  wiped  clean.     Witnesses  feasted  by  relatives,  p.  330. 


The  Patriarchate  317 

On  many  graves  canoe  of  deceased  placed  bottom  side  up.  Over 
most  graves  were  erected  conical  huts,  p,  329.  If  a  man's  traps 
or  snares  were  desired  by  relatives,  they  were  hung  up  in  a  tree 
along  time  before  being  used.  p.  332.  Among  lower  Thompsons 
a  burial  box  belongs  to  a  family  or  a  certain  group  of  families, 
and  many  bodies  placed  in  same  box.  Permitted  to  remove  an 
article  of  clothing,  etc.,  hung  up  on  poles  and  grave  figures  around 
boxes  provided  it  was  replaced  by  some  other  similar  article,  al- 
though inferior  in  quality,  p.  335.  After  burial  deceased  asked 
to  take  pity  on  widow  or  widower,  and  not  to  trouble  him  or  her. 
Some  food  was  often  thrown  on  ground  near  grave  to  be  used  by 
deceased  while  visiting  his  grave,  and  that  he  might  not  visit 
house  in  search  of  food,  causing  sickness  to  the  people,  p.  329. 
A  string  of  deer  hoofs  with  a  short  line  attached  hung  across 
inside  of  winter  house  to  hinder  ghost  from  entering,  p.  332. 
Burial  grounds  were  at  some  distance  from  village,  because  they 
considered  graveyards  uncanny  places  to  pass  at  night,  p.  330. 
After  a  death  people  generally  moved  camp  to  a  distance  for 
some  time.  Name  of  a  person  recently  deceased  must  not  be 
mentioned,  p.  332. 

Relatives  of  a  person  killed  by  a  member  of  some  other  tribe 
had  to  avenge  his  death  by  a  war  expedition  against  offending 
tribe.  If  they  failed  to  do  so,  called  "women."  Old  scores 
sometimes  paid  off  after  lapse  of  ten  or  twenty  years.  Duty  of 
members  of  tribe  to  avenge  death  of  those  of  its  members  whose 
blood  relations  were  unable  to  do  so,  p,  290, 

No  totems,  except  at  Spuzzum,  where  two  families  who  were 
descendants  of  members  of  coast  tribes  claimed  totems  of  their 
ancestors,  p,  290. 

Kabyles  : 

Akbil,  etc.  Whoever  agrees  with  an  unrelated  stranger  to 
leave  him  his  property  if  he  die  first,  and  reciprocally  to  receive 
former's  property  if  he  outlive  him,  fined  5  reals.  Agreement  is 
void,  iii.,  367.  Ait  Yahia,  In  a  sale  of  real  estate  near  relatives 
of  owner  have  first  right  to  purchase,   iii.,  ^86. 

Vengeance  for  murder,  rek'da,  may  fall  upon  any  member  of 
family  of  murderer.  Any  relative  of  murdered  man  may  be 
called  upon  to  revenge  his  murder.     Compensation  money  some- 


3i8  The  Family 

times  paid,  but  practice  is  condemn&d  by  public  opinion,  iii., 
60-62.  Ait  Ameur.  Murderer,  his  son,  or  his  heirs  alone  respon- 
sible for  blood  debt,  which  is  thus  transmitted  with  property, 
iii.,  70.  Principle  of  individual  responsibility  beginning  to 
develop  among  some  tribes,  iii.,  396.  Cheurfa,  etc.  Reprisal 
for  murder  may  be  taken  only  on  murderer  himself,  iii.,  336. 
Discretionary  power  of  Kharotiha  to  punish  crimes  committed 
within  its  group  limited  by  certain  exceptions,  notably  in  case  of 
pregnancy  outside  of  marriage,  voluntary  incest  (a  religious 
crime),  and  murder  of  a  relative  when  succession  to  property  is  the 
motive.  In  two  first  cases  a  family  may  kill  guilty  member,  other- 
wise they  will  be  killed  by  village  council  and  relatives  fined. 
For  third  crime  certain  villages  have  suppressed  rights  of  Kha- 
rouba  altogether,  and  decreed  death  by  stoning  or  perpetual  exile 
for  murderer;  other  villages  merely  sentence  him  to  banishment 
for  a  period.  All  prevent  his  inheriting  property  of  murdered 
man,  and  almost  all  confiscate  his  own  property,  iii.,  101-105. 
Ait  Kani.  If  people  living  in  a  family  association  strike  one 
another,  they  are  not  subject  to  fine.  If  they  separate,  they  pay 
like  others,  iii.,  423.  Cheurfa,  etc.  He  who  strikes  with  stone 
or  stick  his  elder  brother  or  uncle,  fined  i  real,  iii.,  333.  Ait 
Ousammer,  etc.  He  who  strikes  the  wife  of  his  brother,  fined  i 
real  if  woman  complain.  Whereas  for  striking  wife  of  another, 
fine  is  10  reals,  iii.,  379. 

Ait  Fraougen.  If  a  woman  has  near  relatives  she  may  not 
name  any  one  to  give  her  away  in  marriage  and  receive  in  return 
the  thdmatnth.  iii.,  389.  Ait  Bon  Chaib.  An  orphan  girl  who 
has  several  uncles  may  designate  one  to  receive  her  t/idmajnih,  but 
he  must  then  provide  for  all  her  wants  and  expenditures.  If  she 
complains  against  him,  he  is  fined  50  reals,  iii.,  431.  Ait  Khalifa. 
A  man  anticipating  his  decease  may  not  name  any  one  but  a  rela- 
tive as  a  guardian  of  his  children.  A  man  about  to  set  forth  for 
Mecca  may  appoint  a  non-relative  to  watch  over  a  repudiated 
wife.  If  his  wife  is  not  repudiated  he  may  appoint  only  a  relative 
ii.,  401.  If  a  man  die  and  leave  a  wife  and  children,  his  nearest 
relative  is  children's  guardian  until  their  majority,  iii.,  384.  Ait 
Aissa.  No  one  may  be  the  guardian  of  an  orphan  but  a  near 
relative.  If  there  are  no  near  relatives,  it  is  a  man  of  the 
Kharouba.   iii.,  405. 


The  Patriarchate  319 

Ait  Ameur,  etc.  If  a  man  die  without  male  children,  village 
council  entitled  to  receive  20  reals,  iii.,  394.  Father  of  bride  and 
of  bridegroom  each  pay  i  real  to  village  council,  iii.,  384.  Ait 
Ousammer.  On  marriage  of  a  daughter  to  a  stranger,  father  will 
pay  4  reals  to  village  council.  If  council  entertain  marriage 
guests  on  this  occasion,  he  will  pay  8  reals,  ii.,  378.  A  relative 
non-resident  in  village  excluded  from  inheriting  property.  If 
deceased  has  no  resident  heirs  village  council  appropriates 
property,  iii.,  383.  Ait  Khalifa.  If  a  woman  become  widowed 
or  repudiated,  she  has  a  right  to  live  in  her  father's  house  and 
on  his  patrimony.  If  a  foreign  woman  marry  into  tribe,  she  may 
not  inherit  from  her  father.  "  We  do  not  allow  our  tribal  property 
to  pass  over  to  foreigners  through  female  inheritance,  nor  do  we 
wish  to  have  property  of  foreigners  come  into  our  possession 
through  that  source."  iii.,  400.  Ait  Aissa.  He  who  gives  a  woman 
in  marriage  without  the  presence  of  village  notables,  fined  2 
dour  OS.  iii.,  404.  Ait  El-Ader.  A  marriage  is  valid  only  when  it 
has  been  celebrated  by  a  marabout  in  presence  of  people  of  vil- 
lage, iii.,  407.  Ait  H'  Assam.  He  who  marries  without  wit- 
nesses pays  a  fine  of  10  reals  and  contract  is  void,  iii.,  436. 
Cheurfa,  etc.  He  who  buys  and  he  who  sells  or  mortgages 
property  of  an  orphan,  fined  20  reals,  iii.,  329, 

Ancient  Hebrews  : 

And  Abraham  gave  all  that  he  had  unto  Isaac.  Unto  the  sons  of 
his  concubines  he  gave  gifts.  Gen.  xxv.,  5-6.  Esau,  the  firstborn 
of  twins,  sells  to  Jacob,  his  younger  brother,  his  birthright.  Ih. 
xxv.,  31-34.  Joseph  brings  his  sons  to  Jacob  his  father  to  bless. 
Jacob  places  his  right  hand  upon  Ephraim's,  the  younger  son's, 
head.  And  Joseph  said, Not  so,  my  father:  for  this  is  the  first- 
born; put  thy  right  hand  upon  his  head.  lb.  xlviii.,  17-18.  If 
a  man  have  two  wives,  one  beloved  and  another  hated,  .  .  .  and 
if  the  firstborn  son  be  hers  that  was  hated:  then  it  shall  be,  when 
he  maketh  his  sons  to  inherit  that  which  he  hath,  that  he  may  not 
make  the  son  of  the  beloved  firstborn  before  the  son  of  the  hated, 
which  is  indeed  the  firstborn:  but  he  shall  acknowledge  the  son 
of  the  hated  for  the  firstborn:  by  giving  him  a  double  portion  of 
all  that  he  hath:  for  he  is  the  beginning  of  his  strength;  the  right 
of  the  firstborn  is  his.  Deut.  xxi.,  15-17.  And  the  Lord  spake 
unto  Moses,  saying,  If  a  man  die,  and  have  no  son,  then  ye  shall 


320  The  Family 

cause  his  inheritance  to  pass  unto  his  daughter.  And  if  he  have 
no  daughter,  then  ye  shall  give  his  inheritance  unto  his  brethren. 
And  if  he  have  no  brethren,  then  ye  shall  give  his  inheritance 
unto  his  father's  brethren.  And  if  his  father  have  no  brethren, 
then  ye  shall  give  his  inheritance  unto  his  kinsman  that  is  next  to 
him  of  his  family,  and  he  shall  possess  it.  Numb,  xxvii.,  i-ii. 

The  father  shall  not  be  put  to  death  for  the  children,  neither 
shall  the  children  be  put  to  death  for  the  father:  every  man  shall 
be  put  to  death  for  his  own  sin,  Deut.  xxiv.,  i6.  Joab  and 
Abishai,  his  brother,  slew  Abner  because  he  had  slain  their 
brother  Asahel.  They  smote  him,  too,  under  the  fifth  rib,  just 
as  he  had  slain  Asahel.  2  Sam,  iii.,  27,  30.  If  any  man  pur- 
posely kill  his  neighbour,  then  the  elders  of  his  city  shall  send  and 
fetch  him  thence,  and  deliver  him  into  the  hand  of  the  avenger  of 
blood,  that  he  may  die.  Deut.  xix.,  11-12, 

David  said  that  there  was  a  yearly  sacrifice  for  all  his  family, 
I  Sam,  XX.,  6. 

Ye  shall  not  afflict  any  widow,  or  fatherless  child.  If  thou 
afflict  them  in  any  wise  and  they  cry  at  all  unto  me,  I  will  surely 
hear  them  cry;  and  my  wrath  shall  wax  hot,  and  I  will  kill  you 
with  the  sword;  and  your  wives  shall  be  widows,  and  your 
children  fatherless.  Ex.  xxii.,  22-24, 
Ancient  Hindus  : 

Impurity  on  account  of  a  death  is  common  to  all  Sapindas.  v., 
62.  If  a  punishment  falls  not  on  the  offender  himself,  it  falls  on 
his  sons,  if  not  on  the  sons,  at  least  on  his  grandsons,  iv,,  173. 

A  monthly  funeral  offering  must  be  made  by  householders  to 
the  manes.  Ancestors  are  satisfied  for  one  month  with  sesamum 
grains,  rice,  barley,  water,  roots,  fruits,  etc.  ;  for  two  months  with 
fish  ;  three  months  with  gazelle  meat  ;  four  with  mutton  ;  five 
with  birds'  flesh  ;  six  with  kids'  flesh  ;  seven  with  spotted  deer  ; 
eight  with  black  antelope  ;  nine  with  Ruru  deer  ;  ten  with  boars 
and  buffaloes  ;  eleven  with  hares  and  tortoises  ;  one  year  with 
cow-milk  and  milk-rice  ;  twelve  years  with  white  goat  ;  the  vege- 
table Kalasaka,  the  fish  Mahasalka,  rhinoceros,  red  goat,  hermits' 
food,  food  mixed  with  honey  on  13th  lunar  day,  etc.,  procure 
endless  satisfaction,  iii.,  123-286,  By  giving  false  evidence  in 
regard  to  small  cattle,  a  man  destroys  5  relatives  ;  to  kine,  10  ;  to 
horses,  100  ;  to  men,  1000  ;  to  gold,  the  born  and  the  unborn  ;  to 


The  Patriarchate  321 

land,  the  carnal  enjoyment  of  women,  and  to  gems,  everything, 
viii.,  97-100.  The  son  of  a  wife  wedded  by  Brahma  rite,  if  he 
performs  meritorious  acts,  liberates  from  sin  lo  ancestors,  lo  de- 
scendants ;  and  himself  as  the  21st;  of  a  wife  wedded  by  Daiva 
rite,  7  ancestors  and  7  descendants  ;  of  one  by  Arsha  rite,  3  an- 
cestors and  3  descendants;  of  one  by  Ka  rite,  6  in  either  ascend- 
ing or  descending  line.  From  these  blameless  marriages  blameless 
children  are  born  ;  from  the  remaining  four  blamable  marriages 
blamable  sons  who  are  cruel,  liars,  and  haters  of  the  sacred  law. 
iii.,  37-42. 

The  mother  is  a  thousand  times  more  venerable  than  the  father, 
ii.,  145.  Towards  a  paternal  and  maternal  aunt  and  an  elder 
sister,  one  must  behave  as  towards  one's  mother,  but  the  mother 
is  the  more  venerable,  ii.,  133. 

A  father  obtains  immortality  thro'  his  eldest  son  who  is  begot- 
ten by  the  fulfilment  of  the  law  ;  all  the  rest  they  consider  the 
offspring  of  desire.  A  man  owes  the  birth  of  a  son  as  a  debt  to 
his  ancestors,  ix.,  106-107. 

After  the  death  of  father  and  mother  the  brothers  may  divide 
the  paternal  and  maternal  estate  in  equal  shares  ;  for  they  have 
no  power  over  it  while  the  parents  live.  (Commentary:  The 
father's  estate  is  to  be  divided  after  his  death,  the  mother's  after 
her  death.)  The  division  may  take  place  if  father  turns  ascetic 
or  during  parents'  lifetime  with  their  consent.  The  eldest  son  on 
whom  the  debt  to  the  manes  falls  may  alone  take  the  whole  pa- 
ternal estate.  If  partition  is  made,  the  eldest  son  shall  have  an 
additional  share  of  one  twentieth  of  the  estate,  and  the  best  of 
all  chattels,  the  middlemost  sons  half  of  that,  and  the  young- 
est one  fourth.  If  the  brothers  are  equally  skilled  in  their  occu- 
pations there  are  no  additional  shares,  some  trifle  only  shall  be 
given  to  the  eldest  as  a  token  of  respect,  ix.,  104-125.  In  case 
of  doubt  how  the  division  shall  be  made,  in  case  the  younger  son 
is  born  of  the  elder  wife,  and  the  elder  son  of  the  younger  wife,  the 
son  of  the  former  shall  receive  as  his  additional  share  one  bull, 
the  next  best  bulls  shall  belong  to  those  who  are  inferior  on  ac- 
count of  their  mothers.  The  eldest  son  of  the  eldest  wife  shall 
receive  15  cows  and  a  bull,  the  other  sons  according  to  the  sen- 
iority of  their  mothers.  Seniority  is  according  to  birth.  No 
seniority  in   right  of  the   mother  exists   among  sons  born  of 


322  The  Family 

mothersof  equal  caste,  ix.,  122-125.  Not  brothers,  nor  fathers, but 
sons  take  the  paternal  estate,  ix.,  185.  One's  elder  brother  must  be 
considered  as  one's  father,  iv.,  184.  If  the  eldest  brother  take  the 
whole  paternal  estate  the  others  shall  live  under  him  just  as  they 
lived  under  their  father.  He  must  then  support  his  younger 
brothers.  If  he  behave  as  an  eldest  brother  ought  to  do,  he  must 
be  treated  like  a  mother  and  like  a  father.  If  he  is  unworthy,  he 
must  yet  be  treated  like  a  kinsman.  Separation  is  meritorious, 
for  by  dividing  each  brother  gains  spiritual  merit,  ix.,  105-111. 
A  king  must  enquire  into  the  laws  of  families  and  settle  the 
peculiar  law  of  each,  viii.,  41.  Whatever  may  have  been  prac- 
tised by  the  virtuous,  that  he  shall  establish  as  law  if  it  be  not 
opposed  to  the  customs  of  families,  viii.,  46.  The  king  shall 
protect  the  inherited  and  other  property  of  a  minor.  In  like 
manner  care  must  be  taken  of  barren  women,  of  those  who  have 
no  sons,  of  those  whose  family  is  extinct,  of  wives  and  widows 
faithful  to  their  lords,  and  of  women  afflicted  with  diseases.  A 
righteous  king  must  punish  like  thieves  those  relatives  who  appro- 
priate the  property  of  such  females  during  their  lifetime,  viii., 
27-29.  Neither  a  father,  nor  a  mother,  nor  a  wife,  nor  a  son, 
must  be  left  unpunished  by  a  king,  if  they  do  not  keep  within 
their  duty,  viii.,  335. 

Ancient  Chinese  : 

When  a  mourner  has  assumed  the  sackcloth  for  a  father,  for 
three  days  he  abstains  from  food  ;  for  a  mother,  for  two  days, 
xxviii.,  386.  Asked  about  the  funeral  precedence  in  the  case  of 
both  parents  dying  at  the  same  time,  Confucius  said  "The  rule 
is  that  the  burying  of  the  less  important  (mother)  should  have  the 
precedence,  and  tliat  of  the  more  important  (father)  follow,  while 
the  offerings  to  them  are  set  down  in  the  opposite  order,    xxvii., 

315- 

With  the  enemy  who  has  slain  his  father,  one  should  not  live 
under  the  same  heaven.  With  tlie  enemy  who  has  slain  his 
brother,  one  should  never  have  his  sword  to  seek  to  deal  venge- 
ance, xxvii.,  92.  How  should  one  do  in  the  case  of  a  man  who 
has  slain  one  of  his  paternal  cousins  ?  Confucius  replies  :  "He 
should  not  take  the  lead  in  the  avenging.  If  he  whom  it  chiefly 
concerns  is  able  to  do  that,  he  should  support  him  from  behind, 
with  his  weapon  in  his  hand."  xxvii.,  92. 


The  Patriarchate  323 

The  mourning  for  parents  is  taken  away  at  the  end  of  three 
years,  but  only  its  external  symbols,  the  mourning  for  brothers  at 
the  end  of  one  year  and  also  internally,  xxviii.,  154.  When  a 
father  has  just  died,  the  son  should  appear  quite  overcome,  and 
as  if  he  were  at  his  wit's  end;  when  the  corpse  has  been  put  into 
the  coffin,  he  should  cast  quick  and  sorrowful  glances  around,  as 
if  he  were  seeking  for  something  and  could  not  find  it;  when  the 
interment  has  taken  place,  he  should  look  alarmed  and  restless, 
as  if  he  were  looking  for  some  one  who  does  not  arrive;  at  the  end 
of  the  first  year's  mourning  he  should  look  sad  and  disappointed; 
and  at  the  end  of  the  second  year's  he  should  have  a  vague  and 
unreliant  look,  xxvii.,  129.  Children  may  not  marry,  even  when 
betrothed,  during  the  mourning  period  for  parents,  xxvii.,  320. 
Although  his  parents  be  dead,  when  a  son  is  inclined  to  do  what  is 
good,  he  should  think  that  he  will  thereby  transmit  the  good  name 
of  his  parents,  and  carry  his  wish  into  effect.  When  he  is  in- 
clined to  do  what  is  not  good,  he  should  think  that  he  will 
thereby  bring  disgrace  on  the  name  of  his  parents  and  in  no  wise 
carry  his  wish  into  effect,  xxvii.,  450-458.  When  his  father  died, 
he  could  not  bear  to  read  his  books;  the  touch  of  his  hand  seemed 
still  to  be  on  them.  When  his  mother  died,  he  could  not  bear  to 
drink  from  the  cups  and  bowls  that  she  had  used;  the  breath  of 
her  mouth  seemed  still  to  be  on  them,  xxvii.,  24.  Confucius 
said:  "  In  dealing  with  the  dead,  if  we  treat  them  as  if  they  were 
entirely  dead,  that  would  show  a  want  of  affection,  and  should 
not  be  done;  or,  if  we  treat  them  as  if  they  were  entirely  alive, 
that  would  show  a  want  of  wisdom,  and  should  not  be  done."  On 
this  account  the  vessels  of  bamboo  used  in  connection  with  the 
burial  of  the  dead  are  not  fit  for  actual  use;  those  of  earthen- 
ware cannot  be  used  to  wash  in;  those  of  wood  are  incapable  of 
being  carved;  the  lutes  are  strung,  but  not  evenly;  the  pandean 
pipes  are  complete,  but  not  in  tune;  the  bells  and  musical  stones 
are  there,  but  they  have  no  stands.  They  are  called  vessels  in 
the  eye  of  fancy;  that  is,  the  dead  are  thus  treated  as  if  they  were 
spiritual  intelligences,  xxvii.,  148.  From  of  old  there  were  (re- 
ferring to  the  vessels  in  imagination)  the  carriages  of  clay  and 
the  figures  of  straw,  .  .  .  Confucius  said  that  the  mak- 
ing of  the  straw  figures  was  good  and  that  the  making  of  the 
wooden   automaton    was   not   benevolent.      Was    there   not  «i 


324  The  Family 

danger  of  its  leading  to  the  use  of  living  men?  xxvii.,  173.  Im- 
mediately after  death,  tlie  dried  flesh  and  pickled  meats  are  set 
out  by  the  side  of  the  corpse.  When  the  interment  is  about  to 
take  place,  these  are  the  things  sent  and  offered  at  the  grave; 
and  after  the  interment,  there  is  the  food  presented  in  the  sacri- 
fices of  repose.  The  dead  have  never  been  seen  to  partake  of 
these  things.  But  from  the  highest  ages  to  the  present  they  have 
never  been  neglected;  all  to  cause  men  not  to  revolt  from  their 
dead,  xxvii.,  177-178.  Khan-Zze-Kii  having  died  in  Wei,  his 
wife  and  the  principal  officer  of  the  family  consulted  together 
about  burying  some  living  persons  follow  him.  When  they  had 
decided  to  do  so,  his  brother,  Khan-Zze-Khang,  arrived,  and  when 
they  informed  him  about  their  plan,  saying,  "When  the  master 
was  ill,  he  was  far  away,  and  there  was  no  provision  for  his  nour- 
ishment in  the  lower  world;  let  us  bury  some  persons  alive  to 
supply  it."  Zze-Khang  said,  "To  bury  living  persons  for  the 
sake  of  the  dead  is  contrary  to  what  is  proper.  Nevertheless,  in 
the  event  of  his  being  ill,  and  requiring  to  be  nourished,  who  are 
so  fit  for  that  purpose  as  his  wife  and  steward  ?  "  On  this  the 
proposal  was  not  carried  into  effect,  xxvii.,  181-182.  The  king 
made  for  himself  seven  ancestral  temples,  with  a  raised  altar  and 
the  surrounding  area  for  each.  The  temples  were  his  father's; 
his  grandfather's;  his  great-grandfather's;  his  great-great-grand- 
father's; and  the  temple  of  his  high  ancestor.  At  all  of  these  a 
sacrifice  was  offered  every  month.  The  temples  of  the  more 
remote  ancestors  formed  the  receptacles  for  the  tablets  as  they 
were  displaced;  they  were  two,  and  at  these  only  the  seasonal 
sacrifices  were  offered.  For  the  removed  tablet  of  one  more 
remote,  an  altar  was  raised  and  its  corresponding  area;  and  on 
occasions  of  prayer  at  this  altar  and  area,  a  sacrifice  was  offered. 
In  the  case  of  an  ancestor  still  more  remote,  he  was  left  in  his 
ghostly  state.  A  feudal  prince  had  five  ancestral  temples.  A 
great  officer  had  three;  an  officer  of  the  highest  grade  had  two; 
an  officer  in  charge  merely  of  one  department  had  one.  The 
mass  of  ordinary  officers  and  the  common  people  had  no  ancestral 
temple.  Their  dead  were  left  in  their  ghostly  state,  to  have 
offerings  presented  to  them  in  the  back  apartment,  as  occasion 
required,  xxviii.,  204-206.  It  is  by  sacrifice  that  the  nourishment 
of  parents  is  followed  up  and  filial  duty  to  them  perpetuated.     In 


The  Patriarchate  325 

three  ways  is  a  filial  son's  service  of  his  parents  shown:  while 
they  are  alive,  by  nourishing  them;  when  they  are  dead,  by  all 
the  rites  of  mourning;  and  when  the  mourning  is  over  by  sacri- 
ficing to  them,  xxviii.,  237-238.  In  presenting  the  sacrifice  of 
repose  in  the  ancestral  temple,  the  son  offered  it  to  his  parent  in 
his  disembodied  state,  hoping  that  his  shade  would  peradventure 
return  and  enjoy  it.  When  he  came  back  to  the  house  from  com- 
pleting the  grave,  he  did  not  venture  to  occupy  his  chamber,  but 
dwelt  in  the  mourning  shed,  lamenting  that  his  parent  was  now 
outside.  He  slept  on  the  rushes,  with  a  clod  for  his  pillow, 
lamenting  that  his  parent  was  in  the  ground.  Therefore  he 
wailed  and  wept,  without  regard  to  time;  he  endured  the  toil  and 
grief  for  three  years,  xxviii.,  377. 

At  all  mourning  rites  in  a  household,  if  the  father  were  alive, 
he  acted  as  presiding  mourner  ;  if  he  were  dead,  and  brothers 
lived  together  in  the  house,  each  presided  at  the  mourning  for 
one  of  his  own  family  circle.  If  two  brothers  were  equally  related 
to  the  deceased  for  whom  rites  were  necessary,  the  eldest  presided 
at  these  rites  ;  if  they  were  not  equally  related,  the  one  most 
nearly  so  presided,  xxviii.,  373.  Primogeniture  is  observed, 
xxvii.,  120. 

Eldest  cousins  in  the  legitimate  line  of  descent  and  their 
brothers  should  do  reverence  to  the  son,  who  is  the  representa- 
tive chief  of  the  family,  and  his  wife.  Though  they  may- 
be richer  and  higher  in  official  rank  than  he,  they  should  not 
presume  to  enter  his  house  with  the  demonstrations  of  their 
wealth  and  dignity.  Although  they  may  have  in  attendance  many 
chariots  and  footmen  they  should  stop  outside,  and  enter  it  in 
more  simple  style  with  a  few  followers.  If  to  any  of  the  younger 
cousins  there  have  been  given  vessels,  robes,  furs,  coverlets,  car- 
riages, and  horses,  he  must  offer  the  best  of  them  to  his  chief,  and 
then  use  those  that  are  inferior  to  this  himself.  If  what  he  should 
thus  offer  be  not  proper  for  the  chief,  he  will  not  presume  to 
enter  with  it  at  his  gate,  not  daring  to  appear  with  his  wealth  and 
dignity,  to  be  above  him  who  is  the  head  of  all  the  clan  with  its 
uncles  and  elder  cousins.  A  wealthy  cousin  should  prepare  two 
victims  and  present  the  better  of  them  to  his  chief.  He  and  his 
wife  should  together,  after  self-purification,  reverently  assist  at  his 
sacrifice  in  the  ancestral  temple.     When  the  business  of  that  is 


326  The  Family- 

over,  they  may  venture  to  offer  their  own  private  sacrifice,  xxvii., 
458-459.  Members  of  the  same  surname  were  united  together 
in  the  various  ramifications  of  their  kinship,  under  the  Heads  of 
their  various  branches,  xxviii.,  62.  There  was  the  great  Hon- 
oured Head  whose  tablet  was  not  removed  from  the  ancestral 
temple  for  a  hundred  generations.  There  were  the  smaller  Hon- 
oured Heads  whose  tablets  were  removed  after  five  generations. 
They  were  the  ancestors  of  a  line,  xxviii.,  65. 

Ancient  Romans  : 

Let  no  dead  bodies  be  interred  or  buried  within  the  city. 
Regulations  forbidding  lavish  expenditure  in  funerals  (and  limit- 
ing the  burial  or  burning  of  the  dead)  in  more  than  three  mourn- 
ing robes  (with  purple  bands).  Not  more  than  ten  flute  players 
are  to  be  hired.  Let  not  the  women  disfigure  their  faces  or  in- 
dulge in  ostentatious  lamentation.  The  bones  of  a  deceased  per- 
son are  not  to  be  collected  for  the  purpose  of  a  subsequent  funeral. 
All  funeral  potations,  costly  be-sprinklings  of  the  funeral  pile, 
long  rows  of  crowns,  or  incense  vessels  borne  before  the  corpse, 
several  funerals  or  biers  for  one  person,  the  throwing  in  of  gold 
with  the  body  are  forbidden.     Table  X. 

For  the  frightful  crime  of  parricide,  (hastening  the  death  of  an 
ascendant  or  child  or  any  other  relation  whose  murder  is  included 
under  the  term  parricide)  there  is  no  usual  penalty  ;  the  perpe- 
trator and  instigator  or  accomplice  are  sewn  up  in  a  leathern  sack, 
with  a  dog,  a  cock,  a  viper,  and  an  ape,  and  thrown  into  the  neigh- 
bouring sea  or  river  "  so  that  during  life  he  may  begin  to  want 
the  use  of  the  elements,  and  that  the  air  may  be  withdrawn 
from  him  whilst  living  and  the  earth  when  he  is  dead."  J.  iv., 
xviii.,  §  6. 


LECTURE  XIV 


THE    MODERN    SIMPLE    FAMILY 


TRANSITIONS  from  matriarchal  as  well  as  from  Transition  from 
,       ,  •       T     •  1         1    f  M  •  •  compound  to 

patriarchal  to  individual  lamiiy  organisation  are  modem  simple 

to  be  observed,  but  the  latter  type  of  transition  is  by    ^""'^ 

far  the  more  usual,  and  for  a  study  of  the  simple 

family  of  civilisation  the  more  significant. 

The  question  of  the  passing  of  the  Aryan  peoples  Aryan  transition 
through  the  matriarchal  stage  has  been  and  still  is 
the  subject  of  controversy.^  Whatever  the  interpre- 
tation given  to  alleged  survivals  of  prehistoric  periods 
may  point  to  historically,  the  Aryans  have  always 
lived  under  patriarchal  or  individual  family  organisa- 
tion; and  there  are  many  traces  of  the  transition 
from  the  former  to  the  latter  type  of  organisation  in 
the  modern  simple  family. 

Although  in  this  family  descent  is  traced  through  Patriarchal 

bi  ^Cf'xi  ii'ri>        survivals  in  simple 

oth  parents,  oitspring  take,  as  a  rule,  their  fathers  family  descent 

name  and,  where  a  noble  class  exists,  his  title.      In 

the  control  of  offspring,  the  father  or  the  paternal  Guardianship 

kindred  have  commonly  superior  rights  and  heavier 

obliofations  than  those    of  the   mother   or   maternal 

kindred.     The  right  of  custody  and  the  obligation  to 

support  and  educate  commonly  attach  to  the  father 

in  preference   to  the   mother,  either  in  marriage  or 

under  circumstances  of  separation.   The  mother,  to  be 

sure,  may  have  primacy  over  the  paternal  kindred;  but 

'  See  pp.  307-8. 
327 


328  The  Family 

in  the  death  of  both  parents  the  right  of  guardianship 
Hes  with  the  paternal  instead  of  the  maternal  kindred. 
Parental  consent  to   Again,  aiTiong  some  peoples  parental  consent  is  neces- 
marriagc  ^^^^  ^^^  ^j^^  marriage  of  offspring  to  a  late  age,  twenty- 

five  or  even  thirty.     The  age  of  consent  is  in  almost 
all  cases  earlier  than  the  legal  age  at  marriage. 
Economic  dis-  Many  economic   disabilities  in  independent  wage- 

abilitics  of  married  .  ....  .  ...  1    1       1   i* 

women  and  minors  eammg  and  m  mdependent  mheritance  and  holdmg 
of  property  likewise  attach  to  married  women  and  to 
minors.  The  product  of  the  wife's  industry  still  be- 
longs, for  example,  to  the  matrimonial  community  in 
some  of  the  states  where  the  community  system 
prevails.  Even  where  the  principle  of  separate 
ownership  is  recognised,  inherited  forms  of  marital 
administration  and  usufruct  over  dotal  and  other 
forms  of  property  may  persist.  In  succession  to 
matrimonial  property,  the  husband's  share  in  the 
estate  of  his  deceased  wife  may  be  larger  than  the 
wife's  share  in  the  estate  of  her  deceased  husband. 
On  the  other  hand,  where  the  principle  of  individual 
Discriminations  in  ownersliip  is  wcll  established  for  both  husband  and 
avouro  wi  e  "wife,  spccial  protection  for  the  wife,  dating  back  to  the 

earlier  system  of  exclusive  marital  property  rights, 
may  persist.  The  husband  may  be  responsible  for 
the  support  of  his  wife  during  marriage,  and,  where  she 
has  brought  the  action  of  divorce,  after  separation  (ali- 
mony). H  e  may  be  primarily  responsible  for  the  house- 
hold expenses,  for  the  support  of  minor  offspring,  etc. 
Juridical  The  contractual  capacity  of  married  women  is  still 

incapacitica  jj^    mauy    Europeau    countries  and   in    parts  of   the 

United  States  partly  unrecognised.  A  married 
woman  may  not  be  allowed  to  give,  alienate,  pledge, 
or  acquire  property  without  the  authorisation  of  her 


The  Modern  Simple  Family  329 

husband,  or,  where  this  rule  begins  to  be  modified,  of 
the  court,  or  she  may  be  free  to  contract  only  for  her 
separate  property.  Again  contract  for  her  personal 
services  may  be  subject  to  marital  authorisation. 
Her  husband  may  be  able  to  invalidate  contracts 
already  made  or  only  to  abrogate  future  acts  of  the 
kind.  Incapacity  to  sue  and  be  sued  is  an  outcome  of 
general  contractual  incapacity.  Where  contractual 
capacity  is  in  general  recognised,  special  restrictions 
upon  the  power  to  answer  for  the  liability  of  another 
person  may  exist.^ 

Parents  are  usually  still  entitled  to  the  earnings  of  cMid  labour 
their  minor  offspring;  and  in  the  lower  economic 
classes  of  most  countries  child  labour  for  the  benefit 
of  parents  is  customary.  In  the  higher  economic 
classes  parental  ownership  finds  expression,  on  the 
other  hand,  in  shutting  unmarried  daughters  out  from 
productive  activity. 

Lack  of   chastity    in    unmarried  and    of   conjugal  chasuty  and 
fidelity  in  married  men  are  far  from  being  as  severely  """"^"^^  /^"*^ 
condemned  as  such  offences  among  women.     Among  Right  to  divorce 
few  modern  nations  has  the  right  to  divorce  become 
fully  reciprocal.     Among  all  nations  the  husband  is  General  subordina. 
still  recognised  as  the  legal  head  of  the  household  lZny^°"''"'' 
administration.       Finally,  the    subordination    of   the 
wife  to  the  husband  in  many  ways  which  are  not  a 
concern  of  law  is  prescribed  by  religious  and  secular 
public  opinion.^ 

'  Special  studies  should  be  made  of  the  sources  of  these  modern  patriarchal 
survivals.  The  subjection  of  married  women,  for  example,  is  due  to  canon  and 
not  to  Roman  law. 

^  This  review  covers  only  the  most  striking  patriarchal  survivals  in  the  modern 
family.  In  the  following  description  of  the  latter  further  patriarchal  traces 
will  be  recognised. 


330  The  Family 

Bearing  in  mind  the  influence  of  prior  patriarchal 
systems  upon  the  modern  family,  likewise  bearing  in 
mind  that  modern  civilisations  are  the  most  hetero- 
geneous, culturally  and  economically,  of  all  societies, 
and  therefore  that  the  family  with  other  forms  of 
social  organisation  is  subject  to  innumerable  varia- 
tions of  type  in  the  same  civilisation,  let  us  review  the 
Characters  of  mod-  main  features  of  the  typical  modern  simple  family. 

crn   simple    family  t\ /r  •  •  T>  •  i  i 

Marriage  is  monogamous,      bigyny  when  contracted 
Monogamy  undcr  legal  formality  is  punished  by   imprisonment. 

When  entered  into  without  legal  formality,  it  is,  as  a 
rule,  severely  condemned  by  public  opinion,  and  is 
almost  universally  a  cause  for  divorce.  Adultery  is 
thought  of  as  a  wrong  that  can  be  committed  against 
a  wife  as  well  as  against  a  husband.  Biandry,  to  use 
a  parallel  term,  is  similarly  treated,  although  it  is  even 
more  harshly  condemned  by  public  opinion.  (An  in- 
teresting survival  of  patriarchal  marital  power  in  this 
connection  is  the  fact  that  the  husband  who  is  coeni- 
zant  and  tolerant  of  biandry  is  much  more  severely 
condemned  than  the  wife  who  is  cognizant  and  toler- 
ant of  bigyny.)  Similarly,  acts  of  temporary  non-con- 
jugal sexual  intercourse  are  more  severely  condemned 
in  the  wife  than  in  the  husband.  Lack  of  conjugal 
fidelity  in  married  men  is  more  condemned  than  lack 
of  chastity  in  unmarried  men.  In  many  civilisations 
Exaction  of  chas-  the  latter  is,  in  fact,  rarely  condemned  at  all.  Recently 
mea°  """'^"'^'^  auiong  Anglo-Saxons  a  slight  tendency  has  developed 
among  marriageable  girls  to  require  chastity  of  suitors. 
Increase  of  prosti-  The  prostitute  class  is,  nevertlielcss,  on  the  increase  in 
all  civilisations.   Increasing  tendencies  to  late  marriage 

Due     partly    to    in-  i  l    •     f  f        i    •        • 

creasing   tendency  and  cciibacy  are  among  the  chiei  causes  ot    this  m- 
ceiiblcy"  "'^^^  °'  crease.    There  is  a  tendency  for  the  segregation  of  this 


The  Modern  Simple  Family  331 

class  to  become  less  and  less  marked.     In  all  civilisa- 
tions divorce  is  also  increasing.     A  large  majority  of  increase  ofdivorc* 
divorces  are  obtained  by  women.      Legal  causes  for 
divorce  tend  to  multiply.     It  is  notable  that  as  yet  the  The  question  of 

»       rr  •  •  1.1  •     ,  '1  offspring  in  di"orce 

existence  of  orfsprmg  is  rarely  taken  into   considera- 
tion,   legally  at    any  rate,   in   questions  of  divorce.^ 
There  is,  however,  a  tendency  to  give  the  custody  of 
offspring  to  the  parent  who  will  be  the  better  educator, 
and  it  is  frequently  provided  that  such  custody  may  be  , 
forfeited  through  misconduct.     Where  legal  divorce  is 
prohibited  or  difficult  to  procure  because  of  legal  re- 
strictions, the  cost  of  legal  procedure  or  religious  pre- 
judice, separations  legal  (limited  divorce  or  divorce 
a  mensa  et  thoro)  and  non-legal  (by  mutual  consent  or 
as  an  act  of  desertion)  are  the  substitutes  in  vogue. 
In  such  cases  legal  remarriage  is  of  course  precluded, 
but  in  the  majority  of  cases,  in  the  case  of  the  ex- 
husbands,  at  any  rate,  clandestine  relations  are  prob- 
ably formed.     There  is  a  certain  amount  of  prejudice 
against  divorced  persons,  more  against  the  divorced 
woman  than  the  divorced  man,  but  this  prejudice  tends  Prejudice  against 
to  diminish,  except  where  the  influence  of  the  Cath-    "'*"^"  persons 
olic  Church  is  felt.     The  remarriage  of  divorced  per-  Remarriage  of 
sons  is  usual.     The  rate  is  about  the  same  as  that    '"'"'"'^  persons 
for  widows  and  widowers. 

Both  systems  of  matrimonial  property-holding,  i.  e., 
the  community  and  the  individual  property  system, 
are  found,  and  in  either  system  a  tendency  to  guar-  Economic  equality 

,  T  •       1  1  °''  iiidependence  of 

antee  the  absolute  economic  equality  or  independence  wives 

'  In  141,810  of  the  328,716  divorces  in  the  United  States  from  1867  to  1886, 
it  is  not  even  recorded  whether  or  not  the  libellant  had  children.  Wright, 
Report,  etc.,  p.  210. 

The  divorce  question  in  relation  to  offspring  has  been  treated  of  in  literature 
notably  by  the  French  playwrights  Brieux  {Le  Berceau)  and  Hervieu  {Le  Didale). 


332 


The  Family 


Co-educatiOD 


of  wives  Is  marked.  Participation  of  wives  In  the  in- 
conjugai  sympathy  tcrcsts  and  to  a  certain  degree  In  the  occupations  of 
husbands  Is  also  characteristic.  This  Is  chiefly  due  to 
the  growing  tendency  against  sex  segregation  in  gen- 
eral. The  most  notable  expression  of  this  tendency 
Is  the  movement  for  co-education  of  the  sexes.  In 
some  communities  Institutional  co-education  has  been 
put  Into  practice  In  all  Institutional  training.  But  In 
these  communities,  as  well  as  In  those  which  still  more 
or  less  persistently  segregate  boys  from  girls  In  Institu- 
tions, home  education  is  still  dififerentlated  along  sex 
lines.  (In  many  cases,  In  fact,  Institutional  education 
which  Is  theoretically  co-educational  Is  so  conducted 
that  It  emphasises  Instead  of  obliterates  sex-lines  in 
education.)  The  period  of  education  tends  to  be 
lengthened,  and  activity  which  Is  likely  to  check 
the  child's  development  Is  condemned  or  forbidden. 
There  are,  for  example.  In  many  communities,  laws 
against  the  exploitation  of  child  labour. 

The  third  or  highest  stage  of  parenthood  is  more 
general  in  the  modern  simple  family  than  in  any  other 
family  type.  Modern  science  with  its  teaching  on  the 
influence  of  heredity  and  of  environment  has  cleared 
the  way  for  the  development  of  the  sense  of  parental 
responsibility.  In  law  there  Is  little  or  no  expression 
as  yet  of  obligation  to  unborn  offspring  in  sexual 
choice ;  but  in  general  public  opinion  there  is  a 
tendency  to  condemn  marriages  likely  to  propagate 
serious  hereditary  disease.  There  Is  similarly  the  be- 
ginnings of  condemnation  of  physical  excesses,  drunk- 
enness, sexual  promiscuity,  etc.,  because  of  their 
probable   effect  upon    offspring.^       The    knowledge, 

'  See,  for  the  discussion  of  this  subject  in  literature,  Ibsen,   Ghosts. 


Prolongation  of 
education 


Child  labour  laws 


Spread  of  highest 
type  of  parenthood 

Modern  science 
and  parental 
responsibility 


The  Modern  Simple  Family  333 

also  a  contribution  of  modern  science,  that  both  pa- 
rents are  from  a  physiological  standpoint  equal  agents 
in  reproduction  is  also  becoming  an  important  factor 
in  public  opinion  about  parental  rights  and  privileges.^ 

The  state  or  crystallised  public  opinion  intervenes  Protection  of  chud- 
for  the  protection  of  infancy  and  childhood  in  many  ^°°'^''y*^"= ''^^^'^ 
ways  besides  prohibiting  injurious  economic  activity. 
Foeticide  is  a  felony.  Persons  participating  in  the  act 
are  subject  to  imprisonment.  Infanticide  is  classed 
with  murder.  For  cruelty  or  neglect  parents  may  be 
deprived  of  the  custody  of  their  children.  Parents 
neglecting  to  avail  of  opportunities  for  the  schooling  of 
their  children  are  subject  to  fine.  In  many  non-legal 
ways  as  well  there  is  marked  tendency  to  hold  the 
good  of  offspring  of  primary  consideration  in  family 
life.  On  the  other  hand,  the  cost  and  prolonged 
period  of  education,  and  the  absence  of  anticipation  of 
returns  economic  or  sympathetic  from  adult  offspring, 
tend  to  make  children  undesirable.  Voluntary  child-  voitunary 
lessness  is  the  outcome  among  those  classes  possessed 
of  the  requisite  knowledge  and  self-control. 

Any  account  of  the  modern  simple  family  would  be  influence  of 
incomplete  without  a  review  of  the  historical  relations  the"famuy^  °'^ 
of  Christianity  and  the  Christian  church  to  the  family. 
It  will  also  be  well  for  us  to  consider  this  subject  in 
anticipation  of  some  of  the  ideas  to  be  discussed  in  the 
next  lecture. 

In  observing  the  nature  of  the  sanction  which  at-  The  reiigicus 
taches  to  family  customs  in  the  several  social  eroups  sanction  of  family 

•'  or        custom 

we  have  been  studying,  we  could  not  fail  to  note  the 
important  part  played  by  religious  thought  and  rite. 

'  Hervieu,  La  loi  d^homme. 


334  The  Family 

Religion  preserves  and  sanctions  custom  in  general. 
Often  it  does  this  explicitly.^  Still  more  often  it  fos- 
ters the  state  of  mind  which  is  intolerant  of  inno- 
vation and  respectful  of  whatever  is  traditional  or 
authoritative.  Christianity,  like  the  other  historical 
religions,  and  like  customary  religion,  totemism, 
ancestor-worship,  etc.,  has  exerted  and  still  exerts  this 
influence  upon  the  family.  Again,  like  other  religions, 
it  has  specifically  impressed  itself  upon  the  family. 
Condemnation  of  Coudemnatiou  of  sexual  desire  as  a  base  instinct  is, 

sexual  desire 

perhaps,  the  main  note  of  Christianity's  direct  mark 
upon  the  family.^  Strict  monogamy  as  the  least  evil 
means  of  satisfying  this  desire  was  preached.  Theo- 
retically "^  lack  of  chastity  before  marriage  and  of  con- 
jugal fidelity  after  marriage  became  as  blamable  in 
men  as  in  women.  Marriage  itself  was  thought  of  as 
indissoluble,  being  a  divine  ordinance.  (This  is  the 
usual  assumption  of  historical  religions.)  Neverthe- 
less life-long  chastity  was  an  ideal  for  both  men  and 
women.  This  view  of  sexuality  tended  no  doubt  to 
Its  effect  on  women  fcgulate  purcly  sexual  relations  to  the  advantage  of 
women ;  but  it  was  and  is  a  grave  obstacle  to  the  de- 
velopment of  woman's  personality.    Women  were  stig- 

'  The  early  priestly  benediction  on  the  marriage  contract  in  Europe,  the 
bride-mass,  and  finally  the  sixteenth-century  sanction  of  marriage  as  a  sacra- 
ment, accompanied  by  the  ecclesiastical  celebration  of  marriage,  are  cases  in 
point.  The  current  anti-divorce  agitation  of  the  Protestant  churches  of  the 
United  States  is  another  illustration.  See  addresses  and  appeals  of  the  Inter- 
Church  Conference  on  Marriage  and  Divorce. 

*  The  Pauline  doctrine  in  i  Cor.  vii.  is  the  most  striking  expression  of  this 
point  of  view.  It  is  of  course  not  original  with  Christianity.  We  have  ob- 
served it  before  in  primitive  beliefs  about  the  dangerous  or  contaminating 
influences  of  women. 

^  Church  teaching  not  infrequently  came  into  conflict  with  local  custom  and 
for  a  time  at  least  was  worsted  by  the  latter. 


The  Modern  Simple  Family  335 

matised  as  the  means  of  satisfying  unworthy  desire. 
As  such  they  became  objects  of  seclusion  and  repres- 
sion. Absolute  subordination  to  a  master,  to  male 
relatives  or  husband,  was  required  of  both  unmarried 
and  married,  particularly  married  women.  Although 
Protestantism  condemned  celibacy  and  all  forms  of  Protestantism  and 
sexual  intercourse  out  of  wedlock,  it  did  not,  directly  ""^"'^^^ 
at  any  rate,  dignify  marriage.  Early  marriage  was 
preached  as  a  necessary  condition  for  the  unworthy 
but  inevitable  gratification  of  the  sexual  impulse. 
Sexual  restraint  in  marriage  was  not  thought  of. 

Not  to  be  overlooked,  on  the  other  hand,  for  their  po-  Christianity,  cwv. 
tential  effects  upon  the  family,  are  the  Christian  doc-  ^'7- ^"^ /'"a""- 

i  -' '  pation  of  women 

trines  of  the  worth  of  the  human  soul  irrespective  of  sex, 
etc.,  of  the  brotherhood  of  man,  and  of  the  duty  of 
universal  love  and  charity.  In  these  beliefs  mediaeval 
chivalry  and  modern  movements  for  the  emancipation 
of  women  found  a  source  and  a  sanction.  The  appli- 
cation of  these  beliefs  to  women,  to  slaves,  serfs,  wage- 
earners,  etc.,  has  been  and  is  to  be  sure  a  matter  of 
non-religious  circumstances.  The  fact  whether  or 
not  women  had  souls  was  once  debated,  for  example, 
by  mediaeval  churchmen. 

To    the  relations  between   parents    and   offspring  Christianity  and  the 

/-^■K      '    .'        ■ .  .       ^  1  •     •        1  '1  patriarchal  family 

Christianity  seems  to  have  made  no  original  contribu- 
tion. It  merely  served  to  propagate  the  older  Hebraic 
teaching  of  filial  subordination  and  of  the  duty,  on  the 
part  of  married  persons,  of  reproduction  at  all  costs. 
We  have  already  seen  that  it  also  favoured  marital 
control.  In  groups,  therefore,  where,  as  in  Rome,  the 
patriarchate  was  disintegrating,  or  in  groups  where,  as 
among  the  Germans,  it  had  never  been  to  any  degree 
developed,  Christianity  became  if  anything  a  sanction 


The  Family 


Survivals  ot 
ancestor-worship 


Influences  of 
mediaeval  church 
as  a  political 
organisation 


Parental  consent 
to  marriage 
unnecessary 


Encouragements 
to  promiscuity, 
divorce,  plural 
marriage 


Multiplication  of 
bars  to  marriage 


for  a  patriarchal  type  of  family.  In  encouraging  filial 
"  piety  it  was  a  soil  for  survivals  of  ancestor-worshipping 
cults  or  rather  habits  of  thought.  Family  burial- 
grounds  with  their  tombstone  offerings  of  flowers,  etc., 
family  prayers,  "grace"  at  meals,  family  benedictions 
and  curses,  masses  and  candle-burning  for  the  souls 
of  deceased  relatives,  etc.,  are  illustrations. 

The  Christian  church  had  as  a  political  organisation 
certain  special  effects  upon  the  family.  In  taking 
over  from  Roman  law  the  contractual  idea  of  marriage, 
canon  law  emphasised  the  view  that  the  consent  of 
the  contracting  parties  was  the  essence  of  a  marriage. 
Parental  consent  thereby  became  dispensable.  Mar- 
riage at  the  age  of  seven,  even  if  in  opposition  to 
parent  or  guardian,  was  legal,  and  all  child  marriages, 
with  or  without  the  consent  of  the  guardian,  could  be 
avoided  by  the  desire  of  the  girl  wife  after  she  was 
twelve  years  old  or  by  the  boy  husband  after  he  was 
fourteen.  Again  just  as  the  mediseval  church  practi- 
cally opposed  in  this  way  the  religious  theory  of  filial 
submission,  so  it  has  also  at  times  worked  against 
chastity  and  monogamy.  Sacerdotal  celibacy  was 
universally  accompanied  by  sexual  promiscuity,  and 
through  ecclesiastical  quibbling  over  forms  of  ceremo- 
nial, marriage-bars  making  marriage  void,  etc.,  and 
ecclesiastical  favouring  of  clandestine  marriage,  divorce 
and  plural  marriages  were  encouraged.  Seeking  to 
extend  its  control,  the  church  also  greatly  multiplied 
the  bars  to  marriage,  notably  the  impediments  of  con- 
sanguinity and  af^nity,  kinship  to  the  sixth  or  seventh 
degree  being  decreed  prohibitory  to  marriage. 


The  Modern  Simple  Family  337 

NOTE  A 

Patriarchal  Survivals  in  Regard  to  the  Legal  Capacity 
OF  Married  Women. 

Loeb,  The  Legal  Property  Relations  of  Married  Parties^ 
pp.  16-46, 

Marriage  and  Divorce  in  Roman  and  in  English  Law, 
Bryce,  Essay  XVL  in  Studies  in  History  a?id  Jurisprudence^ 
New  York  and  London,  1901. 

Monographs  on  Modern  Simple  Families  in  Europe, 

Le   Play,   Les  Ouvriers  Europe'ens,    vol.    v.   and  vol.   vi., 
chap,  viii. 

Increase  of  Divorce  in  the  United  States. 

Wright,  A  Report  on  Marriage  and  Divorce  in  the  United 
States,  1867-1886,  pp.  129-149. 

Historical  Review  of  Causes  of  Instability  of   Modern 
Family, 

Pearson,  The  Decline  of  the  Family,  chap.  v.  in  National 
Life  and  Character,  London  and  New  York,  1894. 

Instability  of  Family  of  Lower  Economic  Classes  in  the 
United  States. 

Brandt  and  Baldwin,  Family  Desertion,  pub,  by  the  Charity 
Organisation  Society,  New  York  City,  1905. 

Increase  of  Women  in  Industry  in  Massachusetts. 

Sex  in  Lndustry,  pt.  iv.  of  the  33d  (1904)  Anfiual  Report  of 
the  Mass.  Bureau  of  Statistics  of  Labour,  Boston,  1903. 

Increase  of  Co-education  in  the  United  States. 

Harris,  Report  of  the  Commission  of  Education  of  the  United 
States  for  1902;  Washington,  1903,  ii.,  2388-2390, 

Increase  of  Higher  Education  in  the  United  States. 
Lb.,  i.,  xciii-xcvi. 

Roman  and  Canon  Law  on  Domestic  Relations. 

Maine,  Ancient  Law,  pp.  128-170, 
Medieval  Ecclesiastical  Marriage. 


33^  The  Family 

Howard,  A  History  of  Matrimonial  Institutions,  i,,  chaps. 

vii.-viii. 

Protestant  Reforms  in  Marriage. 
Ibid,     i.,  chap.  ix. 

See  Notes  B  and  C  to  the  following  lecture  for  suggestions  for 
reading  and  research  about  the  modern  family  along  contro- 
versial lines. 

NOTE  D 

Ancient  Romans  : 

On  intestacy  and  in  default  of  an  heir  succeeding  as  co-owner 
of  the  patrimony  (descendants  under  power),  let  the  nearest 
agnate  take  the  inheritance.  In  default  of  an  agnate,  the  inherit- 
ance is  to  fall  to  the  gens.  Table  v.  The  praetor  gives  emanci- 
pated as  well  as  unemancipated  descendants  possession  of  the 
property.  /.  iii.,  /.,  §  9.  If  a  lunatic  be  not  provided  with  a 
curator,  let  the  care  of  his  person  and  property  fall  to  the 
agnates,  or,  in  default,  to  the  gens.  Table  v.  A  descendant, 
whether  male  or  female,  whetlier  tracing  descent  through  males 
or  females,  whether  emancipated  or  not,  is  to  be  preferred  to  all 
ascendants  and  collaterals.  We  wish  that  in  all  successions  the 
distinction  between  agnates  and  cognates  shall  disappear.  In 
tutorship,  likewise,  no  difference  shall  arise  from  the  law  of  agna- 
tion or  cognation;  but  we  forbid  women  to  undertake  the  burden 
of  the  tutorship  except  in  the  case  of  a  mother  or  grandmother, 
and  then  only  after  they  have  agreed  not  to  remarry,  and  in  the 
absence  of  a  testamentary  tutor.  /.,  Novel,  cxviii.,  chaps,  i.,  iv.,  v. 

Title  by  possession  to  a  Roman  citizen's  property  can  never  be 
acquired  by  an  alien.  Table  vi. 

French  : 

391.  The  father  may  appoint  a  special  counsel  to  the  surviving 
mother  who  is  guardian,  without  whose  advice  she  cannot  take 
any  steps  in  connection  with  the  guardianship.  If  the  father 
specifies  the  purposes  for  which  the  counsel  is  appointed,  the 
guardian  shall  be  able  to  act  in  all  other  matters  without  his 
assistance.  395.  If  tlie  mother,  who  is  guardian,  wishes  to  re- 
marry, she  must  call  together  the  family  council  before  the  cele- 
bration of  the  marriage,  and  such  council  shall  decide  whether 


The  Modern  Simple  Family  339 

she  may  retain  the  guardianship.  If  she  fails  to  issue  this  call 
she  loses  the  guardianship  by  right;  and  her  new  husband  shall  be 
jointly  responsible  for  all  that  may  follow  in  connection  with  the 
guardianship  which  she  has  unduly  retained. 

402.  When  no  guardian  has  been  appointed  to  a  minor  by  the 
survivor  of  the  father  or  mother,  the  guardianship  belongs  by 
right  to  the  paternal  grandfather,  or,  in  his  default,  to  the  mater- 
nal grandfather,  and  so  on  upwards,  and  in  such  a  way  that  the 
paternal  ascendant  shall  always  be  preferred  to  the  maternal 
ascendant  in  the  same  degree. 

People  of  United  States  : 

When  the  morals  or  safety  or  interests  of  the  children  strongly 
require  it,  the  court  may  withdraw  their  custody  from  the  father 
and  confer  it  upon  the  mother.     §  248. 

Guardianship  belongs  exclusively  to  the  parents:  first,  to  the 
father,  and,  on  his  death,  to  the  mother.  Father's  right  formerly 
preferred  to  mother's  in  all  cases,  while  modern  tendency  is 
otherwise.  §  285.  A  father,  but  in  most  States  not  a  mother, 
may  appoint  a  testamentary  guardian.     §  287. 


LECTURE  XV 

ETHICAL   CONSIDERATIONS 

Hasty  ethical  \/ O  U  may  Havc  noted  that  in  the  foregoing  lectures 

disastrous'""  *        no    expHcit    reference   has  been   made    to    the 

ethical  bearing  of  the  facts  discussed.  It  was  im- 
portant for  us  to  clearly  understand  these  facts  before 
we  attempted  to  interpret  them  from  an  ethical  stand- 
point. An  ethical  interpretation  of  half-known  facts 
may,  and  only  too  frequently  does,  lead  to  conclusions 
that  are  not  only  scientifically  false,  but  morally  dis- 
astrous. To  refrain  from  premature  interpretations 
or  conclusions  is  the  right  as  well  as  the  scientific 
method  of  procedure. 

Although  we  have  not  explicitly  discussed  the 
ethical  side  of  any  topic  in  our  account  of  the  family, 
yet  it  was  not  difficult  to  surmise  at  the  very  begin- 
ning the  form  that  such  a  discussion  would  take. 
Here,  at  any  rate,  biology  and  ethics  do  not  conflict.^ 
Criterion  of  ethical  The  highest  type  of  family  is  the  one  which  is  so 
organised  that  infancy  may  be  prolonged  and  that 
the  advantages  possible  through  its  prolongation 
may  be  secured  to  offspring.  In  other  words,  im- 
mature offspring  must  be  supported,  protected,  and 
educated  throughout  the  period  of  immaturity  in  such 
a  way  that  they  will  be  perfectly  adapted  to  their 
total  environment,  and  will  also  be  able  to  avail  them- 
selves of  whatever  opportunities  for  progressive  indi- 

'  Huxley,  Evolution  and  Ethics, 
340 


family 


Ethical  Considerations  341 

vidual  variations  may  spring  from  their  own  natures 
and  be  tolerated  in  their  e^ivironment.  All  questions 
of  the  ethical  fitness  of  given  traits  of  family  structure 
must  be  referred  to  this  standard  for  judgment.  The 
character  of  parental  care  should  depend,  then,  on  the 
nature  of  the  child  and  on  that  of  his  actual  and 
potential  surroundings.  If  they  are  complex,  a  suc- 
cessful process  of  adaptation  will  needs  be  long.  Let  Parental  duties  in  a 
us  note  here,  incidentally,  that  parents  should  so  ^e^^t 
control  the  child's  environment  that  it  may  never 
be  too  complex  for  the  child's  power  of  adaptation. 
Juvenile  criminality  is,  as  a  rule,  nothing  more  than  juvenile  criminality 
the  result  of  the  child's  futile  effort  to  adjust  him- 
self to  an  over-complex  environment.^  In  modern  Adaptation  of 
civilisation  in  the  case  of  children  who  show  that  they  ^ndiviTuTi^"*  ^° 
will  never  be  able  to  cope  with  a  very  complex  envir- 
onment, the  interests  and  habits  of  the  child  should  be 
so  influenced  and  formed  that  when  at  maturity  the 
choice  to  a  certain  extent  of  an  environment  is  open 
to  him,  he  may  choose  the  one  to  which  he  is  fitted, 
even  if  it  be  popularly  thought  of  as  inferior  to  what 
he  was  **  born  to."  We  know  that  hereditary  caste  or 
class  regulation  of  economic  pursuits  results  in  a  great 
social  waste  of  individual  ability  or  talent.  In  modern 
civilisation  the  identification  of  **  social  position"  with 
certain  economic  activities,  or,  in  the  case  of  women, 
with  freedom  from  work  of  any  kind,  is,  of  course, 
merely  a  survival  of  such  caste  restrictions.  It  is  still 
a  serious  check  upon  the  democratic  principle  of  equal 
opportunities  for  all  for  personal  development.  In 
its   tendency  to  drive   the   individual  into  work  for 

'  The  painful  child  suicide  and  murder  incident  in  Hardy'sy«aV  the  Obscure 
is  a  strikingly  clear  illustration  in  point. 


342  The  Family         ' 

which  he  is  not  fit  it  is  prejudicial  to  the  children  of 
all  economic  classes.  If,  for  example,  through  desire 
to  "  rise  "  on  the  one  hand  and  not  to  lose  caste  on  the 
other,  both  the  son  of  a  day  labourer  and  the  son  of 
a  railway  president  become  inefficient  clerks  when  each 
might  have  been  a  proficient  blacksmith  or  mechanic 
both  society  and  workman  suffer  loss. 
Encouragement  of        The  task  of  studyiug  thc  individual  capacity  of  the 

personal  initiative  i    -i   i     •  i  •  i    • 

child  m  adaptmg  hrni  to  a  changing  environment  is 
not  easy,  but  the  encouraging  of  his  capacity  for  in- 
dividual variation  is  still  more  difficult.  Personal  in- 
itiative is  a  rare  quality,  but  it  might  not  be  quite  so 
rare  if  it  were  not  so  frequently  suppressed  in  child- 
hood. The  pedagogy  of  the  modern  kindergarten 
Need  of  discipline  has  been  distinguished  by  this  insight.  Kindergarten 
essays  have  also  shown,  however,  how  difficult  it  is  to 
combine  encouragement  of  initiative  with  discipline 
or  systematic  adaptation  to  environment.  This  is 
the  undertaking  that  falls,  however,  and  falls  primarily, 
upon  parents.  A  scientific  application  of  this  theory 
of  parental  education  in  any  society,  in  our  own,  for 
example,  would  mean  a  long  treatise  on  education, 
requiring  a  careful  consideration  of  existing  forms  of 
culture  and  of  many  aspects  of  individual  and  social 
psychology.^  The  personal  application  of  the  theory 
is  the  problem  that  must  be  met  by  all  intelligent  and 
devoted  parents.     You  are  not  engaged  as  scientists 

'  This  treatise  remains  to  be  written.  The  writing  of  it  would  be  a  great  and 
memorable  work.  It  would  supply  a  scientific  basis  for  an  unparalleled  system 
of  national  education  in  which  the  present  divorce  between  home  and  school 
education  would  not  occur.  Such  a  treatise  would  be  a  chapter,  in  turn,  of  a 
still  greater  work  on  social  selection.  Cp.  Earth  on  the  interaction  of  education 
and  social  development,  Die  Geschichte  der  Erziehung  in  sozioiogischer  Behzich- 
tung  in  Vierteljahrschrift  fur  wissenschaftliche  Philosophic  u,  Soziologie,  ii., 
1903. 


Ethical  Considerations  343 

in  writing  the  treatise  or  as  parents  in  solving  the 
problem,  but  there  are  certain  subjects  connected 
with  it  which  as  potential  solvers  of  the  problem  it 
would  be  well  for  you  even  now  to  consider. 

Parental  duty  begins,  paradoxically  speaking,  long  Parental  duties 
before  parenthood.  Individuals  influence  the  lot  of  offspring^ 
their  unborn  children  (la)  through  their  own  educa- 
tion in  general,  (ib)  through  their  special  prepara- 
tion as  educators,  (2)  through  their  choice  of  a 
husband  or  wife  who  is  to  share  with  them  responsi- 
bilities of  inheritance  and  education. 

(la)  We  have  beenledtobelieve  that  character,  finely  character  the  end  of 
developed  womanhood  or  manhood,  is  the  goal  of  our 
education.     We  have  also  been  taugfht  that  we  owe  social  service 
services  to  our  community.      In  the  ideas  that  through  combination  of 
the  making  of  our  own  character  we  are  making  that  rXlng'' 
of  our  children,  and  that  successful  child-rearing  is 
one  of  the  most,  if  not  the  most,  important  service 
we  can  render  society  the  two  aims  of  our  education 
combine.      I  doubt  not  that  this  point  of  view  will  be 
reassuring  to  those  of  you  who  are  impatient,  as  most 
of  us  have  been  at  one  time  or  another  in  any  pro- 
longed and  seemingly  over-individualistic  educational 
period,  to  take  up  the  business  of  life  for  which  you 
have  been  so  long  preparing,     (ib)  Herbert  Spencer,  spencer  on  educa. 
in  his  treatise  on  education,  gave  as  one  of  his  five  pa"ents°*^"*'^' 
divisions   of   education   training  in   the   education   of 
others,  i.e.,  the  education  of  the  potential  parent.     As 
yet  we  have  paid  little  or  no  attention  to  this  view, 
but  the  time  will  undoubtedly  come  when  a  child-study 
course  will  be  part  of  everybody's  education.     (Such 
study,  needless  to  say,  will  differ  a  great  deal  from 
that  followed  in   the  professional   normal   school  of 


344  The  Family 

to-day.)  We  shall  refer  to  this  subject  again.^  (2) 
There  are  signs  already  of  the  spread  of  the  idea  that 
the  individual  is  bound  to  consider  the  effects  upon 
Guilt  of  propagating  society  of  hjs  or  her  marriage.  Individuals  tainted 
by  epilepsy,  insanity,  inebriacy,  deaf-mutism,  venereal 
disease,  etc.,  are  thought  by  many  to  be  morally 
guilty  if  they  marry.  There  is  a  growing  realisa- 
tion of  the  cost  to  the  state  of  reproduction  by  its 
diseased  or  vicious  subjects,  and  at  the  same  time  a 
growing  inclination  to  prevent  these  classes  from 
reproducing  themselves  by  segregation,  castration,  etc. 
If  the  biological  knowledge  of  the  future  throws 
more  light  upon  the  present-day  mysteries  of  heredity, 
demonstrating  the  disastrous  results  of  the  mating  of 
those  handicapped  by  minor  as  well  as  by  more  fla- 
grant taints  or  lacks,  the  social  obligation  in  marriage 
will  be  held  more  and  more  considerable.  The  social 
demand  for  the  possession  of  progressive  traits, 
physical,  moral,  and  mental,  as  well  as  lack  of  dis- 
ease on  the  part  of  child  bearers  and  begetters  will 
exert  more  and  more  pressure  upon  the  individual. 
Eugenics,  as  Professor  Galton  suggests,  will  become 
a    religious    dogma.^       Before  continuing  to  discuss 

'  See  pp.  352-3. 

*  As  a  preliminary  and  popular  emphasis  on  the  importance  of  this  point  of 
view  might  it  not  be  well  to  embody  in  marriage  licenses  data  about  the  personal 
and  family  health  and  character  of  bride  and  groom,  likewise  a  certificate  of  the 
bride's  previous  training  in  child-care  ?  Such  a  record  would  be  2. partial  proof 
of  the  matrimonial  eligibility  or  non-eligibility  of  the  license  holder.  A  favour- 
able record  would  entitle  the  holder  to  a  place  upon  the  matrimonial  white-list, 
so  to  speak.  Cp,  Stanley,  Artificial  Selection  and  the  Marriai^e  Problem,  in 
The  Monist,  Oct.,  1891.  See  Morrow,  Social  Diseases  and  Marriage,  New 
York  and  Philadelphia,  1904,  pp.  366-369,  for  the  futility  of  requiring  a  state 
medical  certificate  as  a  means  of  preventing  the  propagation  of  venereal  disease 
in  marriage.  See  also  Mr.  Galton's  and  Dr.  Mott's  suggestions  about  eugenic 
certificates  in  Nature,  Feb.  23,  1905. 


Ethical  Considerations  345 

this  subject  of  the  importance  of  sexual  choice, 
let  us  consider  desiderata  in  the  marriage  ^  relation 
itself. 

According  to  our  view  of  the  family's  function,  the 
relation  between  married  persons  should  be  that  best  criterion  for 
fitting  them  for  their  task  of  parenthood.  It  should 
be  one  allowing  for  or  rather  encouraging  a  full  devel- 
opment of  their  natures,  for  all  their  capabilities  should 
be  taxed  in  their  role  of  parenthood.  Polygyny,  in- 
cluding concubinage,  prostitution,  etc.,  have  tended  to 
distribute  womanly  functions  in  different  classes  of 
women.  Generally  speaking,  the  concubine,  prosti- 
tute, or  mistress  serve  for  sexual  sympathy  and  grati- 
fication, the  chief  or  legal  wife  for  reproduction. 
Economic  activities  are  also  apt  to  fall  unequally  upon 
these  different  classes  of  women.  Monogamy  is  there- 
fore from  the  point  of  view  of  parenthood  a  superior 
form  of  sexual  intercourse,  for  it  allows  of  a  combina- 
tion of  womanly  functions  in  one  woman.  The  result- 
ing type  of  woman  is  a  better  educator  and  her 
children  fall  heir  to  a  richer  inheritance  of  personality 
than  is  the  case  where  women  are  differentiated  into 
child-bearing  and  non-child-bearing  or  productive  and 
non-productive  2  classes. 

Again  reciprocity  of  conjugal  rights  and  duties  is 
desirable  for  parenthood.      If  marriage  have  a  proprie-  conjugal  recipro. 
tary  character,  neither  the  owner  nor  the  owned  is 
entirely  fit  to  develop  free  personalities  in  his  or  her 
children.      Moreover  the  idea  of  marital  ownership 

'  In  this  lecture  we  are  using  the  term  in  its  popular  sense. 

'Women,  of  course,  like  men,  are  differentiated  as  producers  and  non-pro- 
ducers for  reasons  irrespective  of  the  forms  of  marriage.  In  all  cases  the 
offspring  o£  the  non-producers  are  likely  to  suffer  from  this  differentiation. 
See  p.  346. 


346 


The  Family 


Social  meaning  of 
emancipation  of 
woman 


Labour  conditions 
adapted  to  women 
workers 


more  or  less  Involves  that  of  parental  ownership,  and 
the  latter,  as  we  have  seen,  is  incompatible  with  a  high 
type  of  parenthood.  The  custom  of  proprietary  mar- 
riage inevitably  leads,  for  example,  to  restrictions  upon 
female  education.  Now  just  in  so  far  as  a  woman's 
education  is  limited  is  she  handicapped  as  an  educator 
of  her  children.  It  is  unfortunate  that  in  the  emanci- 
pation of  woman  agitation  of  the  past  half-century  the 
reformers  failed  to  emphasise  the  social  as  adequately 
as  the  individualistic  need  of  change.  If  women  are 
to  be  fit  wives  and  mothers  they  must  have  all,  per- 
haps more,  of  the  opportunities  for  personal  develop- 
ment that  men  have.  All  the  activities  hitherto 
reserved  to  men  must  at  least  be  open  to  them,  and 
many  of  these  activities,  certain  functions  of  citizen- 
ship^ for  example,  must  be  expected  of  them.  More- 
over, whatever  the  lines  may  be  along  which  the  fitness 
of  women  to  labour  will  be  experimentally  determined, 
the  underlying  position  must  be  established  that  for 
the  sake  of  individual  and  race  character  she  is  to  be 
a  producer  as  well  as  a  consumer  of  social  values.^ 
As  soon  as  this  ethical  necessity  is  generally  recog- 
nised the  conditions  of  modern  industry  will  become 
much  better  adapted  to  the  needs  of  women  workers 
than  they  are  now,  the  hygiene  of  workshop,  factory, 
and  office  will  improve,  and  child  bearing  and  rearing 


'  The  enlightened  political  opinion  of  to-day  finds  the  chief  if  not  the  only 
warrant  for  universal  male  suffrage  in  its  being  an  educational  means.  In  this 
view  women  need  the  suffrage  at  present  even  more  than  men. 

*Seep.  345.  Dr.  Alice  Drysdale  Vickery  gave  striking  expression  to  one 
phase  of  this  subject  at  a  recent  discussion  of  the  London  Sociological  Society. 
She  urged  that  without  ecomonic  independence  the  individuality  of  woman 
could  not  exercise  that  natural  selective  power  in  the  choice  of  a  mate  which  was 
probably  a  main  factor  in  the  spiritual  evolution  of  the  race.  The  American 
Journal  of  Sociology,  Sept.,  1905,  p.  279. 


Ethical  Considerations  347 

will   no   longer   seem    incompatible  with  productive 
activity. 

In  view  of  the  necessity  of  conius^al  reciprocity  of  importance  of 

•'  111  If    sexual  choice 

rights  and  duties  for  personal  development  and  of 
mutual  affection  and  respect  for  enduring  monogamy, 
sexual  choice  becomes  a  very  important  matter,  a  mat- 
ter needing  mature  judgment  and  therefore  preclusive 
of  very  early  marriage.  If  young  people  were  more 
carefully  and  reasonably  educated  for  the  functions  of 
marriage  and  parenthood  they  could  undoubtedly  be 
fitted  at  an  earlier  age  than  they  are  now  for  the  exer- 
cise of  these  functions.  An  abiding  argument  against 
early  marriage  lies,  however,  in  the  differences  of  sex- 
ual choice  at  different  ages.  When  sexual  choice 
resulting  in  sexual  intercourse  and  child-bearing-  occurs 
after  maturity,  mental  and  moral  are  more  apt  than 
merely  physical  traits  to  influence  the  choice  and 
therefore,  according  to  the  law  of  sexual  selection,  to 
be  propagated  in  the  offspring.  Moreover  the  develop- 
ment of  these  traits  in  the  parents  enables  them  to 
provide  more  carefully  for  their  children  than  immature 
parents.  Here  we  are  face  to  face  with  what  is  perhaps 
the  most  difficult  task  and  what  promises  to  become 
one  of  the  most  puzzling  problems  of  current  morality. 
Hitherto  in  almost  all  societies  late  marriage  has 
either  been  accompanied  by  a  lack  of  chastity  before 
marriage  on  the  part  of  the  youth  of  both  sexes  or, 
where  female  chastity  is  valued,  by  the  lack  of  chastity 
on  the  part  of  males  with  the  growth  of  a  prostitute 
class.  ^     Now  it  is  unnecessary  to  more  than  point  out  prostitution  un- 


democratic 


'  Exceptions  may,  as  we  have  seen,  occur  in  groups  where  the  young  women 
become  the  property  of  the  older  or  richer  men  to  the  privation  of  the  younger 
or  poorer  men. 


Alternatives 


348  The  Family 

that  modern  democracy  is  as  incompatible  with  pros- 
titution as  with  slavery.  Our  toleration  of  prostitution 
is  a  survival  of  clan  morality,  and  taboo  upon  discus- 
sion of  the  subject  is  largely  responsible  for  our  fail- 
ure to  realise  its  clash  with  modern  points  of  view. 
The  argument  is  brief.  If  we  desire  monogamy  we 
must  condemn  prostitution,  but  we  must  necessarily 
condemn  male  as  well  as  female  prostitutes.  If,  on  the 
other  hand,  we  do  not  condemn  promiscuity  in  men, 
it  must  be  on  the  ground  that  their  nature  is  radically 
unadapted  to  monogamy  and  that  monogamy  is  unde- 
sirable. In  this  case  we  should  not  discriminate 
against  the  women  necessary  to  the  gratification  of 
men's  polygynous  instincts.  If  the  social  stigma  were 
taken  off  the  prostitute,  if  she  were  no  longer  a  segre- 
gated person,  prostitution  might  then  become,  in  the 
sense  of  a  division  of  labour,  more  consistent  with  a 
democratic  point  of  view.  It  would  nevertheless  be 
untrue  to  democracy  in  its  large  meaning,  /.  e.,  equal 
opportunities  for  the  total  development  of  man  or 
woman.  We  have  therefore,  given  late  marriage  and 
the  passing  of  prostitution,  two  alternatives,  the  requir- 
ing of  absolute  chastity  of  both  sexes  until  marriage 
or  the  toleration  of  freedom  of  sexual  intercourse  on 
the  part  of  the  unmarried  of  both  sexes  before  mar- 
riage, i.  e.,  before  the  birth  of  offspring.  In  this  event 
condemnation  of  sex  license  would  have  a  different 
emphasis  from  that  at  present.  Sexual  intercourse 
would  not  be  of  itself  disparaged  or  condemned,  it 
would  be  disapproved  of  only  if  indulged  in  at  the 
expense  of  health  or  of  emotional  or  intellectual  activi- 
ties in  oneself  or  in  others.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  truly 
monogamous  relations  seem  to  be  those  most  con- 


Ethical  Considerations  349 

ducive  to  emotional  or  Intellectual  development  and  to 
health,  so  that,  quite  apart  from  the  question  of  pro- 
stitution, promiscuity  is  not  desirable  or  even  tolerable. 
It  would  therefore,  seem  well  from  this  point  of  view,  Eariy^rw/ 
to  encourage  early  trial  marriage,  the  relation  to  be  "'^"'*^® 
entered  into  with  a  view  to  permanency,  but  with  the 
privilege  of  breaking  It  If  proved  unsuccessful  and  In 
the  absence  of  offspring  without  suffering  any  great 
degree  of  public  condemnation. 

The  conditions  to  be  considered  In  any  attempt  to 
answer  the  question  that  thus  arises  are  exceedingly 
complex.  Much  depends  upon  the  outcome  of  present 
experiments  In  economic  independence  for  women,  a 
matter  which  Is  In  turn  dependent  upon  the  outcome 
of  the  general  labour  "question."  Much  depends  upon 
revelations  of  physiological  science.  If  the  future 
brings  about  the  full  economic  Independence  of  women, 
if  physiologists  will  undertake  to  guarantee  society 
certain  immunities  from  the  sexual  excess  of  the  Indi- 
vidual if»  and  these  are  the  most  important  condi- 
tions of  all,  increases  in  biological,  psychological,  and 
social  knowledge  make  parenthood  a  more  enlight- 
ened and  purposive  function  than  Is  even  dreamed  of 
at  present  and  \{  pari  passu  with  this  Increase  of  know- 
ledge a  higher  standard  of  parental  duty  and  a  greater 
capacity  for  parental  devotion  develop,  then  the  need 
of  sexual  restraint  as  we  understand  It  may  disappear 
and  different  relations  between  the  sexes  before  mar- 
riage and  to  a  certain  extent  within  marriage  may  be 

'  Through  the  discovery  of  certain  and  innocuous  methods  of  preventing  con- 
ception. The  application  of  this  knowledge  would  have  to  be  encouraged  by 
public  opinion  in  cases  where  conception  would  result  in  a  degenerate  offspring. 
Public  opinion  would  also  have  to  endorse  the  segregation  of  persons  tainted 
with  communicable  sexual  disease. 


350  The  Family 

Needed  reforms  cxpectcd.  Mcanwlillc,  OH  the  basis  of  present  cir- 
cumstances, pubHc  opinion  should  tend  (i)  to  condemn 
prostitution  or  adultery  ^  in  men  as  well  as  in  women, 
(2)  to  make  the  transmission  of  venereal  disease  in 
marriage  a  penal  offence,"  (3)  to  render  identical  the 
age  of  consent  with  the  legal  age  of  marriage  and  to 
abolish  laws  requiring  parental  consent  to  marriage, 
(4)  to  consider  parental  duties  the  same  in  the  case 
of  an  illegitimate  as  in  that  of  a  legitimate  child, ^ 
and  (5)  to  abolish  legal  separation  and  divorce  law 
provisions  prohibiting  the  defendant  to  remarry. 

Reasons  for  recommendations  i,  2,  3,  and  4  have 
been  given  elsewhere/  In  regard  to  the  last  recom- 
mendation it  may  be  stated  that  prohibitions  against 
the  remarriage  of  legally  separated  or  divorced  per- 
sons are  inevitably  factors  in  illegitimate  sexual  in- 
tercourse. Moreover  if  the  parent  who  retains  the 
guardianship  of  the  children  is  unable  to  remarry, 
hardship  to  the  children,  economic  and  otherwise,  may 
result. 
The  existence  of  off-  HowHttlc  the  idea  that  sexual  restraint  is  primarily 
d?"o"rce^eg?s°I«on  ^^r  the  Sake  of  offspring  is  as  yet  consciously  enter- 
tained may  be  known  from  the  disregard  of  this  argu- 
ment against  the  system  of  legal  separation,  as  well 
as  from  the  nature  of  much  of  the  current  divorce 
agitation   in  general.     Consideration  of  offspring  is 

'  It  is  not  rash  to  say  that  in  this  country,  at  any  rate,  married  women  must, 
if  this  opinion  is  to  be  held,  become  more  sensible  of  their  so-called  conjugal  duty 
in  marriage.  Their  disregard  of  this  duty  is  one  of  the  factors  of  increasing 
prostitution  and  practical  bigamy. 

*  See  Morrow,  Social  Diseases  and  Marriage,  pp.  369-378. 

'The  black-mail  argument  so  often  urged  against  (3)  and  (4)  is  obviously 
specious.  In  what  other  case  does  society  refuse  to  consider  a  crime  criminal 
because  the  innocent  may  be  accused  of  it  ? 

*See  pp.  120,  344,  347,  348 


Ethical  Considerations  35 ' 

rarely  to  the  fore  in  current  controversy  about  the 
dissolution  of  marriage,  and  in  no  modern  law  on 
divorce,  with  one  or  two  exceptions,  is  the  existence 
of  offspring  taken  as  a  determining  condition.  From 
our  standpoint,  however,  the  effect  of  divorce  upon 
the  children  of  the  separating  parents  is  the  foremost 
consideration.  Might  it  not  be  worth  while,  in  our 
present  divorce  law  experimentation,  to  discriminate 
between  childless  divorce  seekers  and  divorce  seekers 
with  children,  making  the  law  much  stricter  for  the 
latter  than  the  former  ?  At  any  rate,  it  seems  as  if 
the  emphasis  of  public  condemnation  should  fall  very 
much  more  upon  the  irresponsible  parent  in  case  of 
divorce  than  upon  the  irresponsible  husband  or  wife. 

One  objection  that  may  be  raised  against  such  a 
two-fold  divorce  law  is  that  it  would  encourag-e  volun- 
tarily  childless  marriage.     And  yet  is  not  the  latter 
state  preferable  to  the  birth  of  offspring  to  parents 
who  are  not  capable  of  prolonged  monogamy  ?    Let  us 
remark  in  this  connection  that  the  voluntarily  childless 
marriage  of   to-day   is   an  indication  of  a  tendency 
towards  sexual  freedom  before  marriage.      It  is  a  pro-  voluntarily 
gressive  substitute  for  prostitution  ;  but,  like  prostitu 
tion,  it  is  a  social  evil,  in  so  far  as  it  is  a  check  upon  p-^ostituti 
the  development  of  personality. 

Voluntarily  childless  marriage,  or  the  restriction  of  "Race-suicide 
child-bearing  to  the  birth  of  one  or  two  children,  a 
much  more  general  occurrence,  is  no  doubt  a  very 
serious  condition,  and  one,  too,  that  seems  to  be  on 
the  increase.  Unfortunately  it  seems  to  affect  the 
classes  who,  for  the  sake  of  the  cultural  progress  of 
the  race,  would  do  well  to  have  a  more  numerous 
offspring.      The  classes,  on  the  other  hand,  who  from 


childless  marriage 
assimilated  to 
on 


352 


The  Family 


Natural  selection 
fails 


Social  responsibil- 
ity for  the  care  of 
childhood 


economic  and  cultural  points  of  view,  can  least  afford 
child-bearing  are  those  who  are  most  prone  to  it. 
This  state  is,  of  course,  inevitably  characteristic  of  the 
classes  which  are  the  least  culturally  developed,  and 
therefore  the  least  self-controlled.  If,  however,  the 
educational  agencies  which  reach  these  classes  would 
frankly  teach  them  that  reproduction  irrespective  of 
circumstances  was  criminal  instead  of  righteous,  at 
least  one  of  the  bars  to  right  conduct  in  this  matter 
would  fall  away. 

As  it  is,  a  high  infant  mortality  rate  is,  as  we  have 
seen  already,  the  accompaniment  of  this  high  birth- 
rate. The  laisser  faire  argument  that  the  one  rate 
offsets  the  other,  and  that  through  the  survival  of  the 
fittest  here  as  elsewhere  the  species  prospers  is,  in 
the  case  of  urban  populations  at  any  rate,  fallacious. 
The  survivors  themselves,  in  the  wretched  environ- 
ment of  the  average  city  labourer's  family,  are  only 
too  commonly  maimed,  diseased,  and  undeveloped 
creatures,  fit  only  to  be  a  source  of  disaster  to  the 
community. 

As  soon  as  we  fully  realise  the  solidarity  of  inter- 
ests of  all  parts  of  a  society,  and  the  contagious  nature 
of  social  evil  in  whatever  part  of  a  group  it  may  exist 
for  the  whole  group,  our  present  laisser  faire  policy 
in  regard  to  the  welfare  of  childhood  is  bound  to 
change.  The  history  of  child-labour,  age-of-consent, 
and  compulsory  education  laws  points  to  a  developing 
public  opinion  in  this  connection.  The  care  of  child- 
ren during  the  first  five  or  six  years  of  life,  the  most 
important  years,  from  an  educational  standpoint,  is 
still  almost  wholly  left,  however,  to  parents  irrespec- 
tive of  their  qualifications  as  parents.     The  training 


Ethical  Considerations  353 

of  girls  of  all  economic  classes  in  the  care  of  young 
children/  and  a  system  of  state  supervision ""  of  the 
home  education  of  actual  and  potential  public  school 
children  are  suggested  as  initial  methods  in  this  social 
reform.  In  this  connection  it  may  also  be  suggested 
that  gradual  legal  restrictions  upon  the  right  of 
parents  to  the  earnings  of  their  children  would  serve 
a  double  purpose  in  being  a  check  upon  the  birth-rate, 
and  in  facilitating  the  operation  of  child-labour  and 
compulsory  education  laws. 

As  for  our  over-prudential,  well-to-do  classes,  mere  Educational  needa 
exhortations  to  the  married  persons  among  them  to 
enlarge  their  families  would  seem  to  be  of  little  avail. 
The  education  of  young  people  of  both  sexes  on  ques- 
tions of  sex  and  reproduction  on  the  one  hand,  and  on 
the  ethics  of  economic  production  and  consumption 
on  the  other,  would  be  more  to  the  point.  Through 
icrnorance  of  one  another's  natures  and  of  sex  hygiene 
in  general,  husbands  and  wives  create  conditions  very 
unfavourable  both  to  enduring  monogamy  and  to  re- 

'  The  deplorable  ignorance  of  housewifery  and  the  still  more  deplorable 
parental  neglect  and  indifference  found  in  the  British  workingman's  family  led 
the  recent  English  Inter-departtriiital  Committee  on  Physical  Deterioration  to 
recommend  the  establishment  of  continuation  classes  at  which  the  attendance 
of  girls  who  had  left  school  should  be  made  obligatory  twice  a  week  during 
certain  months  of  the  year.  "  The  courses  of  instruction  at  such  classes  should 
cover  every  branch  of  domestic  hygiene,  including  the  preparation  of  food, 
the  practice  of  household  cleanliness,  the  tendance  and  feeding  of  young  chil- 
dren, the  proper  requirements  of  a  family  as  to  clothing,  everything,  in  short, 
that  would  equip  a  young  girl  for  the  duties  of  a  housewife."     Report,  pp. 

42-43- 

'  Why  should  not  special  public  school  officers,  the  school  nurse  with  large 
functions,  for  example,  supervise  and  to  a  certain  extent  direct  the  home  train- 
ing of  children  in  public  school  and  of  children  below  school  age?  Desire  to 
safeguard  the  privacy  of  the  home  is  generally  only  an  expression  of  clan 
morality.  It  is  a  plea  for  parental  ownership  as  against  the  democratic  view 
of  state  responsibility  for  the  education  of  its  citizens. 


354  The  Family 

production.'  Franker  and  more  intelligent  teaching  of 
girls  in  particular  would  make  them  realise  the  handi- 
cap of  an  undue  postponement  of  marriage  and 
child-bearing,  and  the  necessity  for  their  own  develop- 
ment of  substituting  child-bearing  for  the  meretricious 
kind  of  self-cultivation  too  often  at  present  in  vogue. 
Discussion  of  the  question  of  the  teaching  of  certain 
standards  of  production  and  consumption  to  boys  and 
girls  would  take  us  too  far  afield ;  it  is  enough  to 
suggest  that  if  both  boys  and  girls  were  educated  to 
be  productively  efficient  and  were  inspired  to  work 
irrespective  of  any  economic  necessity  to  work,  a  long 
step  would  be  taken  to  the  solution  of  "race-suicide," 
not  to  speak  of  many  other  current  "problems." 
Were  it  the  "  fashion "  for  every  able-bodied  adult 
person  to  be  a  producer  as  well  as  a  consumer,  of  so- 
cial values,  much  of  our  present  wasteful  and  unre- 
warding kind  of  consumption  would  disappear,  and 
other  wants,  among  them  the  desire  for  offspring, 
would  have  a  chance  to  become  more  effectual. 

The  oreneral  economic  and  cultural  advances  of 
the  nineteenth  century  succeeded  in  side-tracking 
most  of  the  survivals  of  the  patriarchal  family  of  our 
ancestors.  The  general  division  of  labour  more  or 
less  necessitated  the  carrying  on  of  production  out- 
side of  the  family.  Freedom  of  migration  tended  to 
disintegrate  kinship  ties.  Advances  in  science  weak- 
ened the  religious  sanction  of  custom  In  general  and 
of  family  custom  In  particular.     Finally,  the  spirit  of 

'  Dr.  Morrow  suggests,  for  example,  that  "race-suicide  "  may  in  many  cases 
be  due  to  the  infection  of  the  wife  by  the  husband  with  gonorrhoea,  rather 
than  to  voluntary  limitation  of  offspring.  Social  Diseases  and  Marriage,  ■p^. 
I08-IIO.     See  also  Charities  and  The  Commons,  Feb.  24,  I906. 


Ethical  Considerations  355 

freedom  for  individual  development  and  initiative 
undermined  marital  and  paternal  privilege.  This 
disintegration  of  the  proprietary  family  has  seemed 
to  some  people  to  bode  that  of  every  form  of  the 
family.  They  argue  that  any  type  of  family  organi- 
sation is  inconsistent  with  our  rampant  individualism. 
Many  facts  seem  to  justify  this  argument;  never- 
theless are  there  not  more  optimistic  signs  in  view? 
Is  there  not  a  growing  realisation  that  individualism  individualism, 
and  altruism  are  mutually  dependent,  that  the  state  ? "^uy"' ^°'' ^''^ 
must  develop  through  the  individual,  but  that  the 
individual  must  also  develop  through  the  state  ?  And 
is  not  the  conception  that  child-rearing  is  a  social  as 
well  as  an  individualistic  function,  a  natural  corollary 
of  such  a  political  philosophy  ?  Through  the  working 
out  of  this  conception  the  family  may  regain  its  lost 
prestige. 

NOTE  A 

The  Ethical  Family. 

Spencer,   The  Principles  of  Sociology,  pt.  iii.   chaps,  i,,  ii., 
viii. 

Juvenile  Criminality. 

Hall,  Adolescence,  New  York,  1904,  i.,  chap  v. 

The  Kindergarten  Method. 

Salmon   and    Hindshaw,   Infant  Schools,    London,    New 
York,  and  Bombay,  1904,  pp.  264-312. 

The    Propagation  of  Vice  and  Disease    through   Repro- 
duction. 

McCuUoch,   The  Tribe  of  Ishmael  in  Proceedings   of  the 
National  Conference  of  Charities  and  Correction,  1888,  pp. 

154-159- 

Dugdale,  The  Jukes, 


35^  The  Family 

Morrow,  Social  Diseases  and  Marriage,  chaps,  i.,  v.,  vii., 
viii.,  xvi.,  xviii.,  xix.,  xx. 

The  Education  of  the  Potential  Parent. 

Spencer,  Education,  New  York,  1900,  pp.  40-51. 
(In  sex  hygiene)  Galbraith:    The  Four  Epochs  of  Woman's 
Life,  Phila.,  New  York,  London,  1904. 

Eugenics. 

Pearson,  National  Life,  London,  190 1. 

Gallon,  Eugenics :  Its  Definition,  Scope,  and  Aims.  Ad- 
dress before  the  Sociological  Society,  May  16,  1904,  printed 
in  The  American  Journal  of  Sociology,  July,  1904  ;  Studies  in 
Eugenics,  ibid.,  July  and  Sept.,  1905. 

Gallon,  The  Possible  Improvemetit  of  the  Human  Breed 
under  the  Existing  Conditio?is  of  Law  and  Sentiment,  in 
Nature,  Nov.  i,  1901. 

The  Higher  Education  of  Women  in  the  United  States. 

Thomas,  Education  of  Women  in  Education  in  the  U.  S., 
ed.  by  N.  M.  Butler,  Albany,  1900,  pp.  319-358. 

Report  of  the  Comtnission  of  Education  of  the  U.  S.,  1902,  i., 
Ixiii.,  ii.,  1386-1406. 

Health  Statistics  of  Female  College  Graduates,  published  in 
the  i6th  Annual  Report  of  the  Massachusetts  Bureau  of 
Statistics  of  Labour,  Boston,  1885. 

Disharmony  between  the  Rise  of  Sexual  Desire  and  Late 
Marriage. 

Metchnikoff,  The  Nature  of  Man,  New  York  and  London, 
1903,  chap.  V. 

Social  Problems  of  Sex. 

Pearson,  The  Woman's  Question  in  The  Ethic  of  Free 
Thought,  London,  1888,  pp.  370-395. 

Clapperton,  Scientific  Meliorism,  London,  1885,  chap, 
xvii. 

The  Social  Meaning  of  Maternity. 

Pearson,  Woman  and  Labour  in  The  Chances  of  Death  and 
Other  Studies  in  Evolution,  London  and  New  York,  1897,  i., 
226-255. 


Ethical  Considerations  357 

NOTE  B 

The  following  references  will  serve  in  studies  of  current  public 
opinion  on  the  subjects  cited. 

The  Reglementation  of  Prostitution, 

American  opposition  to  regulation  of  prostitution.  Papers 
etc.,  of  the  National  Purity  Congress,  New  York,  1896. 

Discussion  of  advantages  and  disadvantages  of  regulation. 
Johnson,  The  Social  Evil,  chaps,  v.-xi.,  and  pp.  171-181 

Ibid.,  Morrow,  Social  Diseases  and  Marriage. 

Emancipation  of  Women. 

Historical  review  of  the  political  and  public  rights  of 
women  in  civilisation.  Ostrogorski,  The  Rights  of  IVomen, 
London  and  New  York,  1893. 

For  the  sake  of  maternity.  Wollstonecraft,  A  Vindication 
of  the  Rights  of  Woman,  London,  1891,  pp.  225-235,  258- 
265,   280-287. 

Legal  independence  of  married  women  will  cause  in- 
stability in  marrriage.  Economic  independence  will  lessen 
her  value  as  a  mother.  Starcke,  The  Primitive  Family,  pp. 
269-273. 

Possibility  of  readjustment  in  division  of  labour  accord- 
ing to  sex.     Ellis,  Man  atid  IVoman,  chaps,  i.  and  xviii. 

Economic  independence  will  lead  to  "  race-suicide " 
among  the  best  endowed  women,  to  the  disaster  of  the  race. 
Steinmetz,  Teminismus  und  Rasse  in  Zt.  f.  Socialwissenshaft^ 
vii.  (1904),  751-768. 

An  increase  of  individuation  among  women  needed  to 
check  human  multiplication.  Geddes  and  Thomson,  The 
Evolution  of  Sex,  chap.  xx. 

Divorce. 

Reports  of  the  National  Divorce  Reform  League,  1885-96. 

Discussion  by  Cardinal  Gibbons,  Bishop  Potter,  Colonel 
Ingersoll,  Mr.  Gladstone,  etc.,  in  The  North  American 
Review,  Nov.  and  Dec,   1889. 

Education  in  home  -  making  a  remedy  for  divorce. 
Legislation  futile.  Wilcox,  The  Divorce  Problem,  189 1,  pp. 
62-74. 


35^  The  Family 

Divorce  should  depend  only  on  mutual  consent,  the  stiice 
interfering  only  in  the  provision  for  offspring.     Carpenter, 
Marriage,  a  forecast,  in  Love's  Coniing-of-Age,  Manchester, 
1897. 
Co-education. 

Opinions  of  Massachusetts  school  superintendents,  clergy- 
men, physicians,  etc.,  on  co-education.  Majority  and  Minority 
Reports  of  the  Special  Committee  on  Co-  education  of  the  Sexes, 
School  Document  No.  19,  1890,  Boston,  1890. 

Arguments  in  support  of  various  experiments  in  co-educa- 
tion in  England.  Co-education,  ed.  by  Alice  Woods,  London, 
New  York,  and  Bombay,  1903. 

The  education  of  girls  should  be  differentiated  from  that 
of  boys.     Hall,  Adolescence,  chap.  xvii. 
Age  of  Consent. 

Arena  xi.,  xii.,  xiii.,  xiv.  (articles  in  vol.  xiv.  express  in 
particular  prevailing  sentiment  in  the  Western  States  about 
rape  and  seduction). 

Review   of  legislation   in   U.  S.     Howard,  A  History  of 
Matrimonial  Institutions,  iii.,  195-203. 
Child  Labour  Laws. 

Annals  of  the  Atnerican  Acadetny  of  Political  arid  Social 
Science,  xx.  (1902),  143-231. 

Ibid.,  May,  1905. 

Publications  of  the  New  York  Child  Labour  Committee 
and  of  the  National  Child  Labour  Committee.  Headquarters 
105  East  22d  Street,  New  York  City. 

NOTEC 

Is  the  religious  sanction  (i)  necessary,  (2)  desirable  in  social 
education  ?  Discuss  advantages  and  disadvantages  of  the 
American  boarding  school  system.  Outline  a  program  for  the 
instruction  of  adolescents  in  sex  hygiene  and  morality.  Make  a 
study  of  prevailing  public  opinion  and  of  practice  in  regard  to 
the  preclusion  of  the  unfit  from  parentage.  Analyse  in  different 
industries  and  professions  present  inadequacies  of  conditions 
imposed  on  women  workers,  and  recommend  readjustments 
making  labour  conditions  compatible  with  healthy  child-bearing 
and  rearing. 


APPENDIX 

Extracts  from  the  questionnaire  compiled  by  Dr.  Albert  Her- 
mann Post, for  the  International  Society  for  Comparative  Law  and 
Ethnography,  of  Berlin,' 

FAMILY  RELATIONS 

A. — Family  Organization  in  General 

Are  there  narrower  and  wider  circles  of  kinship  ?  Are  there 
clans  with  animal  (or  plant)  names?  Has  the  animal  a  cult? 
(Is  its  flesh  not  eaten,  etc.?)  Are  the  clans  descended  from  a 
common  ancestor  ?     His  name  ?    Genealogy  ? 

B. — Kinship 

Terms  for  relationships.  Are  the  kinship  terms  that  we  use  in 
Europe  applied  in  the  same  way  ? 

Is  kinship  traced  only  through  the  maternal  line  or  only  through 
the  paternal,  or  through  both  ? 

Is  there  artificial  kinship  ?  Is  there  a  covenant  of  brotherhood  ? 
Forms?  Object?  Effects,  ^.  ^,,  upon  property,  upon  the  obliga- 
tion to  support,  upon  blood-feud  ?  Can  strangers  be  adopted  into 
the  family  ?  Forms  ?  Effects  ?  Are  children  given  to  strangers 
to  be  brought  up  ?  Do  kinship  relations  thereby  arise  between 
foster  parents  and  children  ?  Between  foster  brothers  and  sisters  ? 

C. — Mutual  Liability  of  Kindred 

Are  kinsmen  liable  for  the  offences  of  a  relative  ?  Have  they 
to  help  in  paying  fines  ?  Are  they  punished  together  with  the  of- 
fender ?  Are  they  liable  for  debts  ?  Have  kinsmen  to  support 
one  another  in  poverty  ?  Have  they  to  ransom  one  another  ? 
Which  relatives  are  liable  for  one  another,  and  how  far  does  the 
liability  extend  ? 

'  Steinmetz :  Rechtsverhdltnisse  von  eingeborenen  Volkern  in  Afrika  und 
Ozeanien,  Berlin,  1903.  Compare  the  questionnaire  compiled  by  Prof.  Kohler 
in  Zt.  f.  vergleichende  Rechtswissenschaft,  xii.  (1897),  427-436, 

359 


360  The  Family 

D. — Narrower  Family  Relations 

I.       THE    HOUSEHOLD 

What  groups  of  kindred  live  together  in  a  household  ?  How 
are  the  family  dwellings  regulated  ?  Describe  in  particular  the 
polygamous  household.  Do  several  wives  live  together  with 
their  husband,  or  has  each  wife  her  own  hut  ?  Do  the  huts  form 
independent  households  ?  Is  one  wife  the  head-wife  ?  Her  rela- 
tion to  her  husband  and  to  the  other  wives  and  their  children  ? 
What  determines  her  position  as  head-wife  ?  Have  the  children 
of  the  head-wife  prior  rights,  particularly  in  inheritance? 

Are  there  surrounding  house-communities,  kraals,  clan-vil- 
lages ?     Their  government  ? 

Has  the  household  household  property  ?  Of  what  does  it  con- 
sist ?  Is  the  work  in  common  ?  What  becomes  of  the  profit  ? 
Have  the  individual  members  individual  property  ? 

Do  the  unmarried  live  separate  from  the  married? 

2.       FAMILY    HEAD    (hOUSE   FATHEr) 

Who  is  the  family  head  ?  Is  the  head  chosen  ?  Is  the  office 
inherited  ?     According  to  what  order  of  inheritance  ? 

Rights  and  duties.  Family  justice  (  killing,  discipline,  etc.  ). 
Right  of  selling  or  pawning  members  for  debt?  Control  of 
property  ?     Liability  for  the  offences  and  debts  of  members. 

How  long  do  the  rights  of  the  family  head  over  men  and  women 
last  ?     Do  they  terminate  at  majority  or  at  marriage? 

Is  the  office  of  family  head  vacated  with  age  ?  Can  the  family 
head  be  deposed  for  mismanagement  ? 

Can  housemates  separate  from  the  household  ?  For  what 
reasons  ? 

Can  housemates  be  exiled  from  the  household?  For  what 
reasons  ?     With  what  consequences  ? 

E. — Marriage  Relations 

I.  In  general.  Polygyny.  Is  the  number  of  wives  limited  or 
unlimited  ?  Does  a  woman  ever  have  several  husbands  ?  Does 
a  man  ever  have  one  wife  only  ?  Through  custom  or  poverty  ? 
What  rules  govern  in  polyandry  the  intercourse  of  the  husbands 
with  the  wife  ?     Are  the  husbands  brothers  ?    What  cause  is  al- 


Appendix  361 

leged  for  this  form  of  marriage  ?     Is  marriage  a  transitory  or  a 
permanent  relationship  ?     Is  there  time-  or  //-/^/-marriage  ? 

2.  Must  the  wife  come  from  a  different  tribe,  village,  etc.,  than 
the  husband  or  must  she  come  from  the  same  ? 

3.  Does  the  wife  become  part  of  the  husband's  family  or  does 
the  husband  become  part  of  the  wife's  (^.  g.,  must  the  husband  live 
with  the  wife's  parents  or  vice  versa  ?)  or  do  both  continue  to  live 
in  his  or  her  own  family,  or  does  the  couple  begin  independ- 
ent housekeeping  ? 

4.       CELEBRATION    OF   MARRIAGE 

Are  there  rape-symbols,  e.  g.,  mock  fights  at  weddings  ? 

Is  marriage  based  on  an  agreement  between  the  families  of  the 
bride  and  groom  or  upon  a  contract  between  bride  and  groom 
themselves  ?  Who  has  the  right  of  betrothal  ?  Must  bride  and 
groom  assent  ? 

Is  there  a  courtship  ?  Marriage-brokers  ?  Are  presents  made 
during  courtship  to  the  family  of  the  bride?  How  is  courtship 
initiated  and  how  withdrawn  from  ? 

Must  a  bride-price  be  paid  to  the  family  of  the  bride  ?  Must 
the  amount  of  the  bride-price  be  agreed  upon  or  is  it  customary  ? 
Is  the  amount  limited  by  law  ?  Does  the  amount  vary  for  virgins, 
widows,  divorced  women,  according  to  position,  beauty,  etc.?  Is 
the  bride-price  paid  all  together  or  in  instalments  ?  What  rights 
are  recognised  in  regard  to  husband  and  wife  and  to  their  child- 
ren before  payment  is  completed  ?  Is  the  wife  cut  off  from  her 
family  through  payment  of  the  bride-price  or  does  her  family 
still  hold  rights  over  her  ?  Must  the  kindred  of  the  groom  con- 
tribute to  the  bride-price  ?  Have  the  bride's  relatives  claims 
upon  the  bride-price  ?  Is  the  bride-price  returned  to  the  bride 
as  dowry  ?  Does  it  serve  as  a  reserve  fund  in  case  of  widow- 
hood ?  Must  the  family  of  the  bride  make  compensation  for  the 
bride-price?  What  are  the  consequences,  (i)  when  one  of  the 
betrothed  couple  dies  before  the  marriage,  (2)  when  husband  or 
wife  dies,  (3)  when  the  marriage  remains  unfruitful,  (4)  when  one 
deserts  the  other  ? 

Does  marriage  by  barter  occur  ? 

Marriage  by  service  ? 

Consequences  of  a  breach  of  the  betrothal  contract,  (i)  for 


362  The  Family 

the  family,  (2)  for  the  bride  and  groom  ?     Right  of  withdrawal  ? 
Child-betrothal  and  child-marriage  ? 

5.       OBSTACLES    TO    MARRIAGE 

Near  relationship,  age,  differences  in  position,  caste  differences  ? 
Are  younger  brothers  or  sisters  precluded  from  marrying  before 
elder  ? 

6.      WEDDING 

Describe  wedding  customs.  Does  importance  attach  to  the 
virginity  of  the  bride  ?  At  what  time  of  the  year  do  weddings 
occur  ? 

7.  What  is  the  relation  between  betrothed  persons,  between 
married  persons  ?  Must,  in  particular,  betrothed  and  married 
persons  avoid  one  another,  and  their  respective  kindred  ? 

8.       DISSOLUTION    OF    MARRIAGE 

Death  of  husband  or  wife.  Must  the  survivor  follow  the  de- 
ceased in  death  ?  Mourning  period  ?  Does  the  widow  return  to 
her  family,  or  is  she  inherited  by  her  husband's  relatives  (the  so- 
called  levirate)  ?  Inheritance  of  matrimonial  property?  Must 
the  widower  pay  the  family  of  his  deceased  wife  a  fine  ?  Likewise 
when  the  bride-price  has  been  paid  over  ? 

Divorce.  Can  either  husband  or  wife  dissolve  the  marriage  at 
any  time  at  pleasure?  Can  the  husband  repudiate  the  wife? 
Consequences  ?  Can  the  wife  take  refuge  in  her  father's  house  ? 
Consequences  ?  Are  there  grounds  for  divorce  (barrenness, 
etc.?)  Forms  of  divorce  ?  Effect  of  divorce  upon  matrimonial 
property  and  upon  offspring?  May  divorced  persons  marry 
again  ? 

9.  Do  special  rules  govern  a  second  marriage,  particularly  in 
the  marriage  of  &,  widow  ? 

F. — Non-Marriage  Relations 

Are  any  sexual  relations  outside  of  marriage  sanctioned  by 
custom?  (  Free  sexual  intercourse  of  young  people  before  mar- 
riage.) Are  girls  prostituted  before  marriage?  Public  prosti- 
tutes?   Wife-lending  or  exchange,  etc.?     Position  of  illegitimate 


Appendix  3^3 

offspring  ?     Is  pederasty  practised  ?     How  is  it  considered  ?     Are 
there  any  men  who  act  like  women  ?     What  is  their  position  ? 

G. — Home-Life 

I.       BIRTH 

Is  the  birth  of  a  child  celebrated  by  a  feast  ?  Does  such  a  cele- 
bration differ  according  to  the  sex  of  the  child  ?  Must  the 
parents  of  the  mother  or  the  father  follow  a  certain  diet  and  refrain 
from  certain  activities  after  the  birth  or  during  the  pregnancy  ? 
What  reasons  are  given  in  such  case  ?  Do  husband  and  wife 
live  separate  after  the  birth  (during  the  lactation  period)  or  dur- 
ing the  pregnancy  ?  Must  the  wife  be  confined  in  the  house  of 
her  husband  or  of  her  parents  ?  Are  new-born  children  exposed 
or  killed  ?  What  happens  at  the  birth  of  twins  or  of  defective 
or  deformed  children  or  at  the  birth  of  children  under  unusual 
conditions?  Are  deformed  children  brought  up  to  special 
occupations  ? 

2.      DEATH 

Is  the  place  where  death  occurs  deserted  ?  Are  belongings  of 
the  deceased  destroyed  or  given  away  to  strangers  ?  Are  presents 
made  to  the  nearest  relatives  by  their  friends  ?  Is  the  corpse 
eaten  ?  Is  burial  forbidden  in  case  the  deceased  have  debts  ? 
Is  the  person  who  buries  the  deceased  liable  for  his  debts  ? 

3.  YOUTH 

After  whom  are  the  children  named  ?  Circumcision?  Differ- 
ent kinds  of  circumcision  ?  What  ceremonies  and  practices 
corresponding  to  circumcision  are  practised  by  women  ?  What 
reasons  for  circumcision  are  given?  Effects  of  circumcision  upon 
qualification  for  inheritance,  marriage,  carrying  arms  ;  ceremo- 
nial ?  Majority  (time).  Initiation  ceremonial  ?  Tests  of  char- 
acter. 

4.  WOMEN 

What  rights  have  they?  Can  they  (i)  hold  property,  (2)  in- 
herit, (3)  testify  in  court  ?     Have  they  political  rights  ? 


;64  The  Family 


5,       AGE    AND    ILLNESS 

Are  old  and  sick  people  killed  off  ?  Are  they  eaten  ?  What 
reasons  are  given  for  both  customs  ? 

INHERITANCE 

Who  is  entitled  to  inherit  ?  Do  offspring  or  nephews  inherit  ? 
To  what  extent  are  women,  slaves,  chiefs,  kings,  entitled  to  inherit? 
Do  husband  and  wife  inherit  from  one  another?  Order  of  in- 
heritance ?  Does  only  one  person  inherit  or  is  the  inheritance 
divided  ?  Of  what  does  it  consist  ?  Are  special  kinds  of  prop- 
erty inherited  according  to  a  special  order  of  inheritance  ?  Is  the 
heir  liable  for  the  debts  of  him  from  whom  he  inherits  ?  Is  there 
testamentary  disposition  ? 


INDEX 


Abercromby,  199 

Adoption,  112;  indicative  of  desir- 
ability of  offspring,  49 ;  among 
Behring  Strait  Eskimo,  55,  70, 
259,  Melanesians,  71,  260, 
Thompson  River  Indians,  73, 
Babylonians,  78,  263,  ancient 
Romans,  85,  265,  Wyandots, 
180,  295,  Point  Barrow  Eskimo, 
259,  Central  Eskimo,  259,  Ewe- 
Speaking  Peoples,  260,  ancient 
Arabs,  262,  ancient  Hindus, 
264,  French,  265-6,  in  U.  S  A., 
266 ;  a  marriage  restriction,  1 64, 
251,  among  Ewe-Speaking  Peo- 
ples, 181,  ancient  Romans,  188, 
French,  189;  of  wife,  193,  195, 
amiong  Melanesians,  71 ;  of  hus- 
band, 195,  among  Behring 
Strait  Eskimo,  70;  among  an- 
cestor-worshippers, 250 ;  of  war- 
prisoners,  250,  among  Wyan- 
dots, 259,  Thompson  River 
Indians,  261 

Adultery,  belief  that  a  twin-birth 
is  due  to,  46,  formerly  in  Why- 
dah,56;  punishment  for,  116-17, 
143,  among  Veddahs,  122,  Yah- 
gan,  122,  Australians,  122, 
Behring  Strait  Eskimo,  125, 
Wyandots,  125,  Melanesians, 
i2  6,E\ve-Speaking  Peoples,  127, 
Tshi-Speaking  Peoples,  128, 
Yoruba-Speaking  Peoples,  129, 
207,  Thompson  River  Indians, 
130,  Kabyles,  130,  131,  182, 
ancient  Arabs,  131,  153,  an- 
cient Hebrews,  132,  Babyloni- 
ans, 133,  ancient  Hindus,  134, 
135,  French,  135-6;  test  for, 
among  Tshi-Speaking  Peoples, 
129,  Babylonians,  133;  con- 
demned less  than  incest,  165; 
in  patriarchate,  301 ;  a  wrong  to 


wife,   330;  to  be  equally  con- 
demned in  men,  350 

Affinity,  a  marriage  restriction, 
164-5,  among  Thompson  River 
Indians,  181,182,  ancient  Arabs, 
183,  ancient  Hebrews,  184, 
Babylonians,  185,  ancient  Hin- 
dvis,  186,  ancient  Romans,  188, 
French,  1S8,  in  U.  S.  A.,  189 

Age,  discrepancy  of,  in  marriage, 
63,  139,  among  Australians, 
37,  Yahgan,  69,  177,  Yoruba- 
Speaking  Peoples,  73,  Thomp- 
son River  Indians,  73,  182, 
Point  Barrow  Eskimo,  179, 
ancient  Hindus,  187 

Age  at  initiation,  31;  among 
Yahgan,  36,  Australians,  36, 
Thompson  River  Indians,  39, 
ancient  Hindus,  41,  ancient 
Chinese,  41;  in  matriarchal 
family,  279 

Age  at  majority,  among  ancient 
Hebrews,  41,  ancient  Romans, 
42,  French,  42,  in  U.  S.  A., 
42-3 

Age  at  marriage,  indicates  age  of 
filial  independence,  30,  among 
Veddahs,  35,  Yahgan,  36, 
French,  42  ;  distinction  between, 
and  age  of  reproduction, 30  N.  2  ; 
determined  by  initiation,  31, 
among  Yahgan,  36,  Thorn  - 
son  River  Indians,  39;  among 
Veddahs,  35,  Australians,  36, 
Thompson  River  Indians,  39, 
ancient  Chinese,  41,  ancient 
Romans,  42,  French,  42,  in 
U.  S.  A.,  43,  among  Tshi- 
Speaking  Peoples,  72,  ancient 
Hindus,  80,  187;  as  a  factor  in 
birth-rate,  51,  52-3;  arbitrary, 
a  check  on  sexual  choice,  168; 
in  primitive  simple  family,  268  ; 
in  matriarchal  family,  279;  in 
patriarchal  family,  299 ;  modern 
365 


;66 


Index 


postponement  of,  330;  problem 
of,  356 
Age   at   maternity,    among   Ved- 
dahs,  35,  Point  Barrow  Eskimo, 

55 

Age  at  puberty,  30  N.  2,  268; 
among  Yahgan,  36,  Point  Bar- 
row Eskimo,  37,  Tshi-Speaking 
Peoples,  72 

Age-classes,  32,  34,  168:  relation 
of,  to  exogamy,  174-5 

Age  of  consent,  m  U.  S.  A.,  43,  35S; 
defined,  117;  in  modern  simple 
family,  328;  in  medieval  mar- 
riage, 336;  should  be  identical 
with  legal  age  at  marriage,  350; 
laws,  352 

Agriculturists,  exogamy  among, 
173;  labour  according  to  sex 
among,  222,  303;  sedentary  life 
of,  leads  to  patronymy,  255; 
women  primitive,  280,  origin 
of  matriarchate  in  this  fact, 
285  ;  patriarchal  family  among, 
302-3,  305;  joint  undivided 
family  among,  303,  305 

Alimony,  142,  328;  among  ancient 
Arabs,  153,  Babylonians,  157, 
French,  159 

Ancestor-worship,  306,  334;  a 
form  of  parental  control,  92-3  ; 
in  second  stage  of  parenthood, 
92-3;  effect  of,  on  wife,  197, 
200;  beginnings  of,  273,  among 
Behring  Strait  Eskimo,  55,  291- 
3,  Veddahs,  287,  Yahgan,  288, 
Central  Eskimo,  293-4,  Melane- 
sians,  310-11 ;  in  matriarchate, 
281,  in  patriarchate,  300-2,  306; 
among  ancient  Hindus,  264, 
320-1,  Evve-Speaking  Peoples, 
31 1-12,  Tshi-Speaking  Peoples, 
312-13,  Yoruba-Speaking  Peo- 
ples, 313,  Thompson  River  In- 
dians, 315-17,  ancient  Chinese, 
323-5;  survivals  of,  336.  (See 
Froperty.) 

Anglo-Saxons,  4 

Animals,  parental  care  among, 
21-3,  25;  birth-rate  among,  23- 
4;  association  among,  25;  in- 
fanticide among,  25  N.  i; 
sexual  relations  of,  1 13-14, 
120,  137,  146,  161,  163;  birth 
of,  at  propitious  season,  114 

Animism,  95,  98,  270 

Arabs,  ancient,  3,  40,  58,  75,  108, 


131-2.    153-4,    183.    2ir,    237, 
262;  ba'al  and  mot'a  marriages 
of,  195 
Arabs,  Hassinyeh,  141  TV.  2 
Aryans,  matriarchate  among,  297, 

307..  327 

Association,  relation  of,  to  evolu- 
tion, 21.     (See  Animals.) 

Atkinson,   173,   256 

Australians,  2,  36-7,  54-5,  69, 
103-4,  122-4,  148-9,  170,  177- 
8,  203-4,  231,  258,  288-9; 
original  promiscuity  among, 
147;  alleged  group  marriage  of, 
148;  marriage-classes  of,  168, 
175-6,  177-8;  reckoning  of 
descent  among  Arunta,  248, 
255;  tribal  government  of,  283; 
burial  practices  of,  283 

Avoidance  ceremonial,  98,  116, 
166,  174,  229;  an  incest  regula- 
tion, 170;  among  Melanesians, 
180,  ancient  Chinese,  187,  188 

Avunculate,  113,  279-80,  281, 
282;  among  Melanesians,  38, 
309-10,  Wyandots,  294,  Ger- 
mans, 308J  survivals  of,  298, 
among  Ewe-Speaking  Peoples, 
311,     Tshi-Speaking     Peoples, 


312 


B 


Babylonians,  3,  41,  77-9,  108-9, 
133-4.  155-7.  185,  212-13, 
238-9,    263 

Bachofen,  loi,  146,  254,  286, 
297  N.  I 

Baden-Powell,  306 

Balch,  19 

Baldwin,  James  Mark,  99 

Baldwin,  William  H.,   337 

Barrenness,  a  cause  of  divorce,  49, 
120,  142,  among  Babylonians, 
156,  ancient  Hindus,  157;  due 
to  unhygienic  practices,  51, 
among  Australians,  55;  dis- 
graceful among  Tshi-Speaking 
Peoples,  56,  Yoruba-Speaking 
Peoples,  57;  voluntary,  120 
(see  Conception);  believed  to  be 
due  to  unchastity  before  pu- 
berty among  Tshi-Speaking 
Peoples,  128;  a  ground  for 
taking  second  wife,  139 

Bartels,  30  N.  2,  52,  121 

Barth,  34,  342 

Barton,  8 


Index 


367 


BernhOft,  173,  200,  255 

Betrothal,  before  birth,  62,  165, 
among  Austrahans,  37,  177, 
Behring  Strait  Eskimo,  70, 
Ewe-Speaking  Peoples,  7 1 , 
Tshi  -  Speaking  Peoples,  72; 
gifts,  62-3,  among  Behring 
Strait  Eskimo,  70,  Ewe-Speak- 
ing Peoples,  71,  206,  Tshi- 
Speaking  Peoples,  72,  ancient 
Chinese,  216;  bride-price  at, 
62-3,  65,  among  Melanesians  70; 
genesis  of,  68 ;  distinguishes  be- 
tween wife  and  concubine  among 
ancient  Chinese,  84 ;  indicates 
demand  for  chastity,  116,  121, 
among  Yoruba-Speaking  Peo- 
ples, 129;  violation  in  case  of, 
especially  punished,  117,  among 
ancient  Hebrews,  133;  cere- 
monial suggests  preferred  traits, 
161;  reserve  during,  among 
Melanesians,  206,  ancient  Chin- 
ese, 219;  among  Thompson 
River  Indians,  207,  ancient  Hin- 
dus, 214.  (See Infant  betrothal.) 

Betrothal  visits,  62,  196;  among 
Yahgan,  36,  Melanesians,  71 

Birth-rate,  relation  of,  to  infant 
death-rate,  23,  ^;^,  among  dif- 
ferent economic  classes,  34,  352, 
among  college  and  non-college 
bred  women,  34;  among  fish, 
amphibia,  reptiles,  birds,  and 
mammals,  23-4;  among  apes 
and  mankind,  24;  advantages 
of  diminished,  24;  social  checks 
on,  44-51,  52;  distinction  be- 
tween refined  and  crude,  50  A/'. 
I ;  rises  after  period  of  economic 
depression,  51;  analysis  of,  52; 
among  Veddahs,  53,  Yahgan, 
53,  Point  Barrow  Eskimo,  55; 
maximum,  periodic,  114;  in 
primitive  simple  family,  268; 
in  patriarchate,  298 

Birth  taboos,  95,  100 

Bishop,  4 

Blackstone,  4 

Blood-feud,  270,  275-6,  277,  283; 
among  Kabyles,  130,  317-18, 
Yahgan,  288,  Behring  Strait 
Eskimo,  293,  Central  Eskimo, 
294,  Ewe-Speaking  Peoples, 
311,  312,  Thompson  River  In- 
dians, 317,  ancient  Hebrews, 
320,  ancient  Chinese,  322 


Boas,  2,  297  A^.  2 

Booth,  27  N.  3,  34,  68,  99,  121, 

145 

Borough-English,  94 

Brandt,  337 

Bride,  repudiated  for  unchastity, 
116,  among  Ewe-Speaking  Peo- 
ples, 127,  Tshi-Speaking  Peo- 
ples, 128,  Yoruba  -  Speaking 
Peoples,  129,  ancient  Hebrews, 
132,  ancient  Hindus,  134;  not 
allowed  to  work,  226,  among 
Thompson  River  Indians,  20S 

Bride-lifting,  191;  among  Melan- 
esians, 70;  not  a  rape  symbol, 
201 

Bride-price,  62,  63,  65,  66,  68, 
167,  194;  paid  in  instalments, 
65,  among  Melanesians,  70;  a 
due  to  bride,  66,  138,  among  Ba- 
bylonians, 79,  ancient  Hindus, 
79;  among  Melanesians,  70-1, 
Ewe-Speaking  Peoples,  71,  206, 
Tshi-Speaking  Peoples,  72,  Ka- 
byles, 75,  130, 131,  182,  210-11, 
235,  Babylonians,  78,  ancient 
Hindus,  79-80,  213;  ancient 
Hebrews,  212,  forfeited  by 
unchaste  bride,  116,  among 
Melanesians,  126,  Ewe-Speak- 
ing Peoples,  127,  Tshi-Speaking 
Peoples,  128,  Yoruba-Speaking 
Peoples,  129 ;  paid  by  second  to 
first  husband,  116  N.  2,  among 
Ewe-Speaking  Peoples,  127, 
Tshi-Speaking  Peoples,  128, 
Kabyles,  131,  182;  high,  a  fac- 
tor in  polyandry,  140;  forfeit  in 
divorce,  142,  194,  among  Melan- 
esians, 150,  Ewe  -  Speaking 
Peoples,  151,  Tshi  -  Speaking 
Peoples,  151,  Kabyles,  152,  Yo- 
ruba -  Speaking  Peoples,  207; 
factors  in,  161,  among  Kabyles, 
182;  fossils,  192;  wife's  labour 
in  return  for,  226,  among  Mel- 
anesians, 150;  may  be  evidence 
of  transition  from  matriarchate, 
297;  in  patriarchate,  299.  (See 
Dower,  Dowry,  Kinsfolk,  Mar- 
riage by  purchase,  Reipus,  Social 
fictions.) 

Brieux,   331   TV.   2 

Brother,  older,  decides  on  initia- 
tion, 31-2,  among  Australians, 
36;  duty  of,  to  sister,  61  A^.  i, 
among   Kabyles,    75,  Babylon- 


368 


Index 


Brother — Continued. 

ians,  79,  ancient  Hindus,  80, 
Yahgan,  203;  disposes  in  mar- 
riage, 67,  268,  273,  among 
Central  Eskimos,  70,  Austra- 
lians, 178,  203;  -sister  marriage, 
164,  167,  among  Veddahs,  170, 
176;  elder,  married  before 
younger,  168,  among  ancient 
Hindus,  187;  inherits  brother's 
widows,  226,  273,  among  Ewe- 
Speaking  Peoples,  181,  Thomp- 
son River  Indians,  182,  234, 
Melanesians,  232,  a  charac- 
teristic of  matriarchate,  255, 
307;  half-,  half-sister  marriage 
among  Tshi-Speaking  Peoples, 
181,  ancient  Hebrews,  184,  262, 
indicative  of  earlier  kinship  sys- 
tem, 249;  inherits  among  Baby- 
lonians, 108,  ancient  Arabs,  237, 
Wyandots,  294,  Ewe  -  Speak- 
ing Peoples,  311,  Yoruba-Speak- 
ing  Peoples,  313;  inherits  chief- 
taincy, 282,  among  Australians, 
288.  (See  Avoidance,  Avuncu- 
late, Kinsfolk,  Polyandry, Sister.) 

Brotherhood  covenant  of,  250; 
among  Behring  Strait  Eskimo, 
125,  Wyandots,  259;  results  in 
polyandry,   139 

Brotherhood  milk,   164,   250 

Bryce,  337 

Bundling,  121;  among  Thompson 
River  Indians,   208-9 

Bushee,  53 

Butcher,  4 

Butler,  99 


Canon  law.  Kinship  system  in, 
252;  subjection  of  wives  due 
to,  292  N .  I ; consent  the  essence 
of  marriage  in,  336;  on  domes- 
tic  relations,    337 

Celibacy,  penalised,  49 ;  military, 
a  check  on  birth-rate,  51,  in 
Dahomi,  56,  a  check  on  sexual 
choice,  167  ;  of  poverty,  51,  168; 
religious,  1 7 1 ,  a  check  on  birth- 
rate, 51,  among  ancient  Hindus, 
58,  a  factor  in  polygamy,  140, 
a  check  on  sexual  choice,  167, 
accompanied  oy  promiscuity, 
336;  a  sin,  301;  condemned  by 
Protestantism,    335 


Chastity,    relation    between    and 
betrothal,     68,      116;     secured 
through  infibulation,  97,  98;  re- 
quired of  men,   115,    116,  330, 
344;  required  of  girls  115,    116, 
among    Tshi-Speaking  Peoples, 
128,  ancient  Hindus,  134;  relig- 
ious,   119,     121;     among    Ewe- 
Speaking  Peoples,  7 1 ;  marriage 
by  purchase,  a  factor  in,   194, 
199;     in  Christianity,  334.    (See 
Bride,  Bride-price,  Unchastiiy.) 
Chief,  among  Melanesians,  70,  126, 
1 50, Ewe-Speaking  Peoples,  127, 
150,  312,   Tshi  -  Speakmg  Peo- 
ples, 128,  129,  233,  312,  Yoruba- 
Speaking     Peoples,     233,    313, 
Wyandots,  295,  296,  Thompson 
River  Indians,  314;  consent  of, 
to    marriage,   168;    lack    of,  in 
primitive  tribe,  272;   in  matri- 
archate,   282;  becomes  a  king, 
304      (See  King.) 
Chieftancy,  not  hereditary  among 
Thompson  River  Indians,  314, 
Melanesians,   105 
Child-labour,  among  Australians, 
36,  Point   Barrow  Eskimo,  37, 
69,  Central    Eskimo,  38,   Ewe- 
Speaking  Peoples,   38 ;  in  civil- 
isation, 68,  329,  in  U.  S.  A.,  88; 
counteracts    infanticide,    45 ;   a 
factor    in    desirability    of    off- 
spring,   48;    an    expression    of 
parental  mastery,  60;  is  child- 
training,  92 ;  in  second  stage  of 
parenthood,  92;  laws,  332,352, 
358 
Child-marriage,    among    Behring 
Strait  Eskimo,  37,  Kabyles,  40; 
leads  to  father-son  polyandry, 
139;  a  check  on  sexual  choice, 
168,  169;  voided  in  canon  law, 
336 
Child-pawning,  60;    among  Ei^e- 
Speaking     Peoples,    71,     Tshi- 
Speaking    Peoples,    72,    Baby- 
lonians,   77-8.     (See   Child-sel- 
ling.) 
Child-rearing,    social    service    of, 
343'  355-  356;  not  incompatible 
with  productive   activity,  346- 
7;    for    personal    development, 

354 
Children,  feeding  of,  33  ;  lucky  and 
unlucky,  52 ;  belief  in  reincarna- 
tion of,  among  Australians,  54( 


Index 


369 


eaten  by  Behring  Strait  Eskimo 
(?),  55,  Central  Eskimo,  70, 
ancient  Hebrews,  76;  sacrifice 
of,  among  Yahgan,  69,  Tshi- 
Speaking  Peoples,  72,  Yoruba- 
Speaking  Peoples,  73,  ancient 
Hebrews,  76;  killing  of,  in 
Luritcha  tribe,  69;  composition 
of,  276.  (See  Lactation,  Off- 
spring, Parental  affection,  et  sq.) 
Child-selling,  a  factor  in  desira- 
bility of  offspring,  49;  an  ex- 
pression of  parental  mastery, 
etc.,  60,  among  Melanesians  70, 
Ewe-Speaking  Peoples,  7 1 ,  Tshi- 
Speaking  Peoples,  72,  ancient 
Romans,  84,  ancient  Hindus 
264;  under  special  circumstan- 
ces, 60, among  ancient  Hebrews, 
76,  Babylonians,  77,  78,  ancient 
Romans,  85;  repeated,  leads  to 
emancipation,  60,  among  an- 
cient Romans,  84-5 ;  only  in 
f^ase  of  daughters,  61,  among 
Melanesians,  70;  forbidden  by 
ancient  Hindus,  79 
Chinese,  ancient,  3,41.  80-4,  109- 
II,  158,  187-8,  215-19,  240-1, 
264-5,  322-6 
Christianity,    influence    of,    upon 

family,    333-60 
Circumcision,    at    initiation,    31, 
among  Australians,  36;  among 
Kabyles,  40,  Australians,   104, 
Melanesians,  106;  may  indicate 
parental  interest,  97  ;  origin  and 
meaning    of,   102;    thought  ne- 
cessary for  good  of  wife,  197 
Clan,  origin  of,   286,  307;  among 
Veddahs,  287;  property  among 
Wyandots,  295;  survivals,  306, 
among   ancient    Romans,    338; 
disintegration    of,  308-9.    (See 
Exogamy,  Phratry,  Tribe.) 
Clan,  matriarchal,  267  ;  not  distin- 
guished from  compound  family, 
277;  among  Wyandots,  295-6 
Clan,      matronymic,      175,      278, 
among  Tshi  -  Speaking  Peoples, 
260 
Clan,  patriarchal,    267;  functions 
of,    among    Kabyles,    152;   not 
distinguished    from    compound 
family,     277;     among     ancient 
Chinese,  325-6 
Clan,  patronymic,  278 
Clan, totem,  176,253,267,269-71; 


among  Australians,  177:  rela- 
tion of,  to  primitive  horde,  270, 
272  ;  to  primitive  simple  family, 
271;  to  compound  family, 
277  ;  to  matriarchal  family,  281- 
2;  to  phratry,  284-5 
Clapperton,  356 

Classificatory  system,  see  Kinship 
Clews,  15  N.  I.    (See  Parsons.) 
Club-houses,    29;    among    Melan- 
esians,  38 
Codrington,    2 
Co-education,  332,  337,  358 
Composition,   270,  276,  282,  300; 
among    Kabyles,     130,    317-8, 
Yahgan,      288,     Ewe-Speaking 
Peoples.   311;  for  wife  goes  to 
her  kindred,  195  ;  compensation 
for    bride-stealing     origin    of, 
201;  less  for  women  than  for 
men,   228 
Conception,  postponement  of,  30 
N.   2,  44,  49;  conditions  under 
which  prevention  of,  occurs,  4q- 
50.  333.  351.  354,  35.7'  should 
occur,  349,  352;  magic,  among 
Australians,  54-5,  288 
Concubinage,  among  Babylonians, 
79,    155,    ancient    Chinese,    84, 
158,  Yoruba-Speaking  Peoples, 
129,    151,    Ewe-Speaking  Peo- 
ples,   151,    233,    Tshi-Speaking 
Peoples,  151,  ancient  Hebrews, 
154,  155,  ancient  Hindus,  157; 
defined,    137-8;  male,    139;   af- 
fects    status  of    offspring,  i44t 
among   ancient   Hebrews,    155; 
different   degrees  of  subjection 
among  wives  in,  196;  slavery  a 
substitute    for,     223,     230:     in 
patriarchate,  298.     (See  Dowry, 
Head-wife,    Parenthood    juridi- 
cal.   Polygyny.) 
Conjugal   abstinence,   during  lac- 
tation period,  27,  95,  96,  197,  a 
check  on  birth-rate,  50,  among 
Ewe -Speaking     Peoples,      106, 
Yoruba-Speaking  Peoples,  106, 
Kabyles,   108,  ancient  Chinese, 
no,    in;  an  indirect  cause  of 
foeticide,  47  ;  during  pregnancy 
47,   95,    96.   197,    among    Ewe- 
Speaking    Peoples,     106;    after 
child  -  birth    among  Thompson 
River     Indians,  50,    108;    after 
birth  of  tenth  child  among  Tshi- 
Speaking    Peoples,    56;    during 


370 


Index 


Conjugal  Abstinence — Continued. 
son's  initiation  among  Austra- 
lians, 104;  a  factor  in  polygyny, 
140;  on  a  religious  occasion 
among  ancient  Hebrews,  212 

Conjugal  sympathy,  197,  couvade 
an  expression  of,  loi ;  sex  segre- 
gation a  check  on,  198;  among 
Veddahs,  202,  Yahgan,  203, 
Point  Barrow  Eskimo,  204, 
E've-Speaking  Peoples,  207, 
Thompson  River  Indians,  209, 
ancient  Hindus,  214-15,  240, 
ancient  Chinese,  215,  217,  in  U. 
S.  A.,  221,  among  ancient  He- 
brews, 237,  in  modern  simple 
family,  332 

Consanguine  family,  256 

Coulanges,  De,  306 

Courtship,  170;  significance  of, 
161;  initiative  in,  166,  among 
Australians,  203-4,  Thompson 
River  Indians,  208 ;  among  Yah- 
gan, 176,  Point  Barrow  Eskimo, 
178-9,  Central  Eskimo,  179, 
Thompson  River  Indians,  208- 

9 
Cousin,     marriage,     164,     among 

ancient    Hebrews,       184,    185, 

ancient  Romans,  188,  in  U.  S. 

A.,    189;   meaning   of   term   in 

classificatory  system,  251.   (See 

Kinsfolk.) 
Couvade,   95-6,    100;    origin   and 

meaning  of,  loo-i,  307;  among 

Yahgan,  103,  Melanesians,  106; 

for  good  of  wife,  197 
Crawley,  33,   100,   loi,   102,   148, 

172,    173,    174,    199,    200,    201, 

257 
Crooke,    201 
Cunow,  2,  68,  175,  176,   254,  256, 

283.  285 

D 

Danks,  2 

Dargun,  x,  loi,  201,  252,  253, 
254,  255,  282,  283,  297  A^.  I, 
305..   308 

Darwin,  120,  146,  171 

Daughter,  less  desired  than  son, 
47;  prostitution  of,  49,  62,  118, 
among  Hebrews,  76-7,  Melan- 
esians, 126-7;  parental  power 
greater  over,  than  son,  61; 
inheritance  of,  225,  281,  among 
Babylonians,  78-9    108,  ancient 


Hindus,  80,  240,  in  highest 
stage  of  parenthood,  93,  among 
Melanesians,  105,  232,  Yo- 
ruba  -  Speaking  Peoples,  106, 
ancient  Arabs,  108,  237,  in 
U.S.  A.,  Ill,  among  Behring 
Strait  Eskimo,  232,  Thomp- 
son River  Indians,  234,  315  an- 
cient Romans,  242,  VVyandots, 
294,  ancient  Hebrews,  3?o, 
inequality  of,  94,  among  Ka- 
byles,  235,  236,  ancient  Arabs, 
237;  liable  for  crime  by  father, 
117,  among  Babylonians,  251; 
Son  of  appointed,  260,  among 
Hindus,  264,  meaning  of  term 
in  classificatory  system,  78; 
precluded  from  productory,  329. 
(See  Fatlier,  Guardianship,  In- 
fanticide, Mother,  Offspring, 
Parental  affection,  ct  sq.) 

Defloration  ceremonial,  118; 
among  Australians,   124 

Delbriick,  308 

Deniker,      2,     8.      (See     Yahgan. 

Descent  through  both  parents, 
among  Yahgan,  258,  Yoruba- 
Speaking  Peoples,  261,  Thomp- 
son River  Indians,  261 ;  in  prim- 
itive simple  family,  268;  in 
modern  simple  family,  327 

Dinwiddle,    19 

Disinheritance,  94;  among  Baby- 
lonians, 109 

Divorce,  residence  in,  30,  194,  196, 
among  ancient  Hebrews,  41,  in 
U.  S.  A.,  43,  among  Kabyles, 
152,  236,  319,  Babylonians,  156; 
grounds  for,  49,  116,  117,  142, 
143,  among  Ewe-Speaking  Peo- 
ples, 127,  151,  Tshi-Speaking 
Peoples,  128,  151,  261,  Yoruba- 
Speaking  Peoples,  129,  207, 
Thompson  River  Indians,  130, 
Kabyles,  130-1,  152,  French, 
^35-  159'  i^  U.  S.  A.,  136,  160, 
among  Point   Barrow   Eskimo, 

149,  Behring    Strait    Eskimo, 

150,  Central  Eskimo,  150,  206, 
ancient  Arabs,  153,  ancient 
Hebrews,  155,  Babylonians, 
156,  ancient  Hindus,  157,  an- 
cient Chinese,  187-8,  tend  to 
increase,  331:  optional,  116  A^, 
2,  among  Melanesians,  142, 
150;  remarriage  after,  117,  143, 
196,  among  Point  Barrow  Es- 


Index 


371 


kimo,  149,  Kabyles,  152,  an- 
cient Arabs,  154,  ancient  He- 
brews, 155,  Babylonians,  157, 
French,  159,  242,  Ewe-Speaking 
Peoples,  207,  in  modern  simple 
family,  331;  obligatory  for 
adultery  among  Kabyles,  130, 
precluded  through  slandering 
or  violating  bride  among  an- 
cient Hebrews,  132,  133;  ac- 
companies monogamy,  141;  af- 
fected by  existence  of  offspring, 

142,  143,  144,  among  Baby- 
lonians, 155,  157;  not  affected 
331,  351,  among  Hebrews,  155; 
right  of,  not  reciprocal,  143, 
329,  among  Kabyles,  151,  an- 
cient  Hindus,    158;  procedure, 

143,  among  Kabyles,  152,  an- 
cient Arabs,  153,  ancient  He- 
brews, 155;  disposal  of  offspring 
in,  144,  279,  among  Ewe-Speak- 
ing Peoples,  151,  Kabyles,  152- 
3,  Babylonians,  157,  French, 
159-60,  in  U.  S.  A.,  160,  among 
Yahgan,  28S,  in  patriarchate, 
300,  in  modern  simple  family, 
331;  in  London,  145,  U.  S.  A., 
145,  Europe,  146,  among  Yah- 
gan, 148,  Kabyles,  15 1-3,  an- 
cient Arabs,  153-4,  ancient 
Chinese,  158,  in  primitive  sim- 
ple family,  268;  in  matriarchal 
family,  279;  in  patriarchal  fam- 
ily, 300;  increasing,  331,  337; 
a  mensa  et  iJioro,  331;  anti- 
agitation,  334  N.  I,  357;  fac- 
tors to  be  considered  in,  law, 
350-1.   (See  Bride-price  Dowry.) 

Divorced  women,  remarriage  of, 
64,  among  Kabyles,  75,  131, 
Ewe -Speaking  Peoples,  127, 
Tshi-Speaking  Peoples,  128,  an- 
cient Hindus,  158;  property  of, 
66,  among  Kabyles,  152,  in 
U.  S.  A.,  160;  as  prostitutes, 
118,  among  Melanesians,  196; 
prejudice  against,  331 

Dower,  66,  68,  191,  192;  in  Eng- 
lish law,  66  N.  1,  American 
law,  247;  among  ancient  Arabs, 
131-2,  153,  183,  Babj'lonians, 
213,  238,  Hindus,  213,  240,  Ka- 
byles, 235;  forfeit  in  divorce, 
142,  among  ancient  Arabs,  153, 
Babylonians,  156.  (See  Mar- 
riage gifts.) 


Dowry,  66,  67,  68,  191,  192,  225, 
227;  slave-girls  as,  138-9,  223, 
among  Ewe-Speaking  Peoples, 
71,  151,233,  Tshi-Speaking  Peo- 
ples, 73,  151,  ancient  Hebrews, 
77;  controversy  over,  among 
Kabyles,  75;  among  ancient 
Arabs,  75,  ancient  Hebrews,  77, 
Babylonians,  78-9,  213,  238, 
239,  French,  88,  243,  244,  an- 
cient Hindus,  213,  240,  Kabyles, 
235;  through  prostitution,  n8; 
forfeit  in  divorce,  142,  among 
Babylonians,  156,  157,  ancient 
Chinese,  158.  (See  Marriage 
gifts.   Matrimonial  property.) 

Dugdale,  355 

Durkheim,  174,  175,  385 


E 


Education,  in  the  college,  iii;  for 
marriage  and  parenthood,  vii- 
viii,  343.  347.  352-3.  356; 
relation  between  economic,  and 
parental  care,  28-9;  social,  and 
filial  dependence,  29;  at  initia- 
tion, 31,  among  Yahgan,  36, 
Australians,  36-7 ;  according  to 
sex,  32,  98,  among  ancient  Chi- 
nese, no;  relation  betw^een 
family  structure  and,  34;  eco- 
nomic, among  Australians,  36 
103,  Point  Barrow  Eskimo,  37, 
Central  Eskimo,  38,  Thomp- 
son River  Indians,  39-40,  Yah- 
gan, 103,  ancient  Chinese,  no; 
of  offspring,  a  parental  obliga- 
tionamong  Kabyles, 40,  French, 
159;  higher,  and  race-suicide, 
53 ;  imitation  a  method  of, 
90-2 ;  agents  of,  outside  family 
99,  among  ancient  Chinese,  no, 
in  U.  S.  A.,  Ill ;  taboo  upon,  in 
sex  matters,  116  (see  Sex  hy- 
giene); need  of  data  for  a 
system  of  national,  342 

Ellis,  A.   B.,  3 

Ellis,  Havelock,  357 

Elopement,  63,    191;  among   Yo- 
ruba-Speaking  Peoples,  73, 
Thompson    River   Indians,    74; 
leads  to  patronymy,   255 

Emancipation  of  offspring,  in 
French  law,  42,  86,  Roman 
law,  84-6 


372 


Index 


Endogamy,  163-5;  required  of 
heiresses,  93-4,  164,  165,  among 
ancient  Hebrews,  1S5;  race, 
163,  among  Tshi  -  Speaking 
Peoples,  i8i,  Thompson  River 
Indians,  181,  Kabyles,  182, 
ancient  Hebrews,  183,  ancient 
Romans,  188,  in  U.  S.  A.,  189; 
tribe,  164,  among  Australians, 
177,  Wyandots   179,    Kabyles, 

182,  ancient  Hebrews,  183-4, 
ancient  Romans,  188;  district, 
166;  clan,  166;  caste  or  class, 
166,  among  Thompson  River 
Indians,  182,  Kabyles,  183,  an- 
cient Hindus,  186;  a  policy  of 
isolation,  172;  among  Veddahs, 
176,  Yahgan  177,  Behring 
Strait  Eskimo,  179,  ancient 
Hebrews,  184;    name,  305 

Engelmann,  53 

English  law,  dower  in,  66  N.  i ; 
marriage   and   divorce   in,    337 

Eskimo,  2,  37-8,  55-6,  69-70, 
104-5.  124-5,  149-50.  178-9. 
204-6,  231-2,  258-9,  290-4 

Ethics,  distinct  from  history  of 
family,  vii,  340 

Ethnic  society,  defined,  32;  solid- 
arity of  kinship  in,  32,  61 ;  pro- 
perty in.  93  N.  2,  274,  blood- 
feud  in,  27  5  ;  transition  from, 304 

Ethnographers,  shortcomings  of, 
33,  64,  98,  162  N.  3,  198,  272, 
276;  need  of  women,  162  N.  3, 
198  jV.  2 

Eugenics,  344,  356 

Ewe-Speaking  Peoples,  3,  56,  71, 
106,  127-8,  150-1,  180-1,  206- 
7.  233,  260,  311-12 

Exogamy,  163-5;  clan,  164,  169- 
70,  171,  198  N.  4,  281-2,  origin 
of,  175,  Australian  marriage 
classes  outcome  of,  175,  among 
Australians,     178,     Wyandots, 

179,  Ewe  -  Speaking    Peoples, 

180,  Tshi  -  Speaking  Peoples, 
181;  district,  166,  among 
Thompson  River  Indians,  181; 
tribe,  166,  leads  to  clans,  2S6; 
origin  of,  172-3;  form  of  sex- 
ual taboo,  174;  a  means  of 
selection,  174;  among  Behring 
Strait  Eskimo,  179,  Central  Es- 
kimo, 179,  Yoruba-  Speaking 
Peoples,    181,     ancient   Arabs, 

183,  ancient    Hindus,  186,  an- 


cient Romans,  188,  French, 
188,  in  U.  S.  A.,  189,  among 
Melanesians,  259-60; sometimes 
sole  effect  of  matronymy,  248; 
leads  to  matronymy,  253;  a 
convenience  in,  254;  classifica- 
tory  system  a  method  of,  256; 
relation  of,  to  totemism,  270; 
phratry,  271 ;  name,  305,  among 
ancient  Chinese,  187,  216;  pre- 
scribed by  medieval  church, 
336.     (See  Totemism.) 


Family,  appropriate  to  elemen- 
tary sociological  study,  iv; 
originates  in  need  of  parental 
care,  20-1;  defined,  21  A^  1; 
relation  of,  to  evolution,  21; 
confusion  between  physiologi- 
cal and  social  facts  in,  21  N.  2; 
compound,  30,  6i,  267,  273-8, 
283;  relation  between  socia- 
biHty  and,  34;  relation  between, 
structure  and  education,  34; 
discourages  individual  varia- 
tion, 91;  criterion  of  high  type 
of,  91,  340,  355;  differentiation 
of  home  education  according 
to  sex  affects,  organisation,  98; 
primitive  simple,  267-73,  282; 
modern  simple,  267,  327-3C; 
joint,  undivided,  302,  303-4; 
influence  of  religion  on,  333-4, 
354;  of  the  future,  355.  (See 
Mairiarcliatc,  Patriarchate.) 

Fasting,  at  initiation  among  Yah- 
gan, 36,  Thompson  River  In- 
dians, 39;  at  majority  among 
Kabyles,  40;  by  parents,  96-7, 
among  ancient  Hebrews,  108, 
ancient  Chinese,  no.  (S:.^e 
widow.) 

Father,  decides  on  time  for  initia- 
tion, 3 1-2 ;  death  of,  cause  of 
infanticide,  45 ;  consent  of, 
necessary  to  infanticide,  etc., 
47-8,  among  Kabyles,  57-8, 
ancient  Romans,  59;  requires 
infanticide,  etc.,  48;  purchases 
right  to  offspring,  297,  among 
Evvc-Speaking  Peoples,  71; 
can  sue  for  daughter's  seduc- 
tion in  U.  S.  A.,  88,  among  an- 
cient Romans,  135;  superior 
rights    of,    in    modern    simple 


Index 


37: 


family,  327,  among  French,  87, 
338,  in  tJ.  S.  A.,  88,  339.  (See 
Coiivade,  Divorce,  Education, 
Offspring,  Parental  affection,  et 
sq.,  Patrm  Potestas,  Patriarchate, 
Patronymy.) 

Fer^,  25  iV.  2,  loi 

Femow,  4 

Fertility,  a  success-winning  char- 
acter, 2 1 ;  relation  of,  to  mor- 
tality, 23  ;  purposive  checks  on, 
30  N.  2,  44-50;  social  factors  in 
human,  33 ;  charms  or  rites, 
49,  among  Ewe-,  Tshi-,  and 
Yoruba-Speaking  Peoples,  56, 
57,    Thompson  River    Indians, 

57,  ancient  Hindus,  58;  sig- 
nificance of  rewards  for,  49, 
among  ancient  Romans,  59; 
indirect  social  checks  upon, 
50-1,  52,  in  France,  52,  U.  S. 
A.,  53 

Fertilisation,  without  contact 
among  certain  species  of  fish, 
21 ;  internal,  22 

Field-work,  plan  for,  9-19 

Filial  affection,  among  Veddahs,35 

Filial  obligation,  60-1 ;  among 
ancient  Arabs,  75,  ancient  He- 
brews, 75-6;  ancient  Hindus, 
79,  ancient  Chinese,  80-3,  109- 
10,  325,  French,  86;  a  sense  of, 
a  social  asset,  92,  100;  preached 
by  Christianity,  335 

Fiske,  20,  25,  34 

Fison,  255 

Flach,  253 

Foeticide,  52;  indicates  increase 
in  parental  sympathy,  44,  47 
A^.  I ;  causes  of,  47  ;  condemna- 
tion of,  favours  prevention  of 
conception,  49 ;  among  Thomp- 
son River  Indians,  57,  Kabyles, 

58,  ancient  Arabs,  58,  153, 
ancient  Hindus,  58,  in  primitive 
simple  family,  268,  in  matri- 
archal family,  279;  condemned 
in  patriarchate,  298-9,  301;  a 
felony,  333 

Fosterage,  among  superior  eco- 
nomic classes,  26;  on  death  of 
mother,  26,  among  Yahgan,  54; 
among  Babylonians,  41 ;  a  mar- 
riage restriction,  164,  among 
ancient  Arabs,  183 

Foundhng  asylum,  index  of  pre- 
valence of  exposure,  47 


Frazer,    34,    171,    176,    253,    283, 

284,  285,  304 
French,     4,     42,     135-6,     158-60, 

188-9,  220,  265-6,  338-9 
Friedrichs,  52,  285 
Furnivall,  68 


Gaius,  Institutes  of,  4.  (See  Ro- 
mans, ancient.) 

Galbraith,  356 

Galton,  344,  356 

Gavel-kind,  94.    {S&e  Inheritance.) 

Geddes,  357 

Gerontocracy,  272  ;  among  ancient 
Hebrews,  76,  132,  262,  320, 
Veddahs,  287,  Behring  Strait 
Eskimo,  290;  affects  filial  rela- 
tions, 90  A^.  I ;  controls  familial 
relations,  143,  168,  among  Aus- 
tralians, 175,   178 

Giddings,  x,  27  N.  3,  34,  172,  283 

Gillen,  2,  121,  145,  147.  (See  vImj- 
tralians.) 

Giraud-Teulon,  307 

Glasson,    4 

Gods,  family,  among  Tshi-Speak- 
ing  Peoples,  56,  207,  233,  312, 
313,  Yoruba-Speaking  Peoples, 
313,  ancient  Hebrews,  320 

Gomme,  284 

Greeks,  ancient,  4 

Groom-price,  67 

Groot,  De,  3,  306 

Grosse,  173,  202,  230,  253,  255, 
282,  297  N.  I,  305,  307,  309 

Group    control,   46,    98,   99,    113, 

143,  168,  276;  among  Melanesians, 

56,  180,  Thompson  River  Indians, 

57,  107,  ancient  Romans,  59,  135, 
ancient  Chinese,   80,  French,  87, 
189,     Wyandots,     125,     294,     in 
U.S.A  ,  136.  189,  among  Austra- 
lians, 149,  177,  Babylonians,  185, 
213,    239,    ancient    Hindus,    187, 
Kabyles,  211,  Behring  Strait  Es- 
kimo,   290,  Central  Eskimo,  294; 
in  modem   simple  family,  328-9, 
330.    331.   332,   333-     {See   Chuf 
gerontocracy,     gynocracy.     Horde, 
King,  Village  Annals.) 
Group-marriage,    among    Austra- 
lians (as  alleged),  123,  148,  149, 
177,    178;    defined,    137;    com- 
bines with  individual  marriage, 
137;  anteceded  individual  mar- 


374 


Index 


Group-marriage — Continued 
riage,  146,  147,  307;  a  result  of 
marriage  classes,  147  ;  levirate  a 
possible  survival  of,  256;  classi- 
ficatory  system  based  on,  256; 
in  primitive  horde,  267  N.  i 

Guardianship,  67 ;  in  Roman  law. 
32  N.  2,  42.  59,  85,  338;  in 
ethnic  society,  61,  67;  among 
French,  338-9,  in  U.  S.  A.,  339. 
(See    Parental   care,    Kinship.) 

Gynocracy,  229,  282;  among 
Wyandots,  180,  294-6;  theory 
of,  286;  a  trace  of,  among  Ved- 
dahs,  287 


H 


Hall,  34,  53.  355.  358 

Hammurabi,  code  of,  3.  (bee 
Babylonians.) 

Hand-fasting,  141 

Hanoteau,  3.     (See  Kabyles.) 

Hardy,  341 

Harper,  3 

Harris,  337 

Head-man,  among  Australians, 
178,  288-9,  Veddahs,  287,  Behr- 
ing  Strait  Eskimo,  290,  Central 
Eskimo,  293 

Head-wife,  138;  distinguished  by 
bride-price,  66;  son  of,  inherits, 
94;  the  first,  158,  among  Wyan- 
dots, 150,  Ewe-  and  Yoruba- 
Speaking  Peoples,  151 ;  home  of 
husband  with,  139;  not  as  sub- 
servient as  other  wives,  196; 
alone  officiates  at  rites,  197, 
among  ancient  Hindus,  58,  157, 
ancient  Chinese,  188,  in  patri- 
archate, 302;  consulted  among 
E\ve-Speaking  Peoples,  207 

Hearn,  200,  306 

Hebrews,  ancient,  3,  41,  58,  75-7, 
108,  132-3,  183-5,  211-12,  237, 
262-3,  3i9~2o;  filial  subordina- 
tion of,  propagated  by  Christ- 
ianity, 335 

Hellwald,  loi,  120,  145,  146,  i47' 
172,  199,  200,  254,  286 

Herders,  labour  according  to  sex 
among,  229,  303;  migratory 
life  of,  leads  to  patronymy,  255 ; 
patriarchal  family  among,  302- 
3.  305;  joint  undivided  family 
among,  303 


Hereditary  occupations,  92,  tig\ 
among  ancient  Chinese,  no 

Hervieu,  331  ^V.  2,  333  N.  i 

Herzfeld,  19 

Hildebrand,  201,  306,  307 

Hindshaw,  355 

Hindus,  ancient,  3,  41,  58,  79-80, 
109,  157-8,  185-7, 213-15,  239- 
40,  263-4,  320-2 

Holt,  19,  33 

Horde,  primitive,  267,  270,  271, 
372;  among  Australians,  177, 
289,  theory  of,   283-4 

House-community,  277,  281,  302, 
305;  among  Yoruba-Speaking 
Peoples,  313,  Thompson  River 
Indians,  314 

Howard,  x,  4,  i45,  i99,  306,  338, 
358 

Howitt,  2,  147,  170,  200,  255,  283 

Hunter,  19 

Husband,  death  of,  cause  of  in- 
fanticide, 45,  among  Yahgan, 
54;  wish  to  spite,  cause  of  foeti- 
cide, 47;  can  sue  for  attempted 
rape  of  wife,  among  ancient  Ro- 
mans, 135;  will  of,  determines 
rank  of  wives,  138;  punishment 
for  murder  of,  among  Kabyles, 
211,  Babylonians,  213;  has  right 
to  fix  domicile,  among  French, 
220,  in  U.  S.  A.,  220;  controls 
dotal  property,  225,  227,  328, 
among  ancient  Romans,  241-2, 
French  243-4;  administers  pro- 
perty under  community  system, 
225,  328,  among  French,  243; 
inherits,  227,  among  Yahgan, 
231,  Kabyles,  235,  ancient 
Arabs,  237,  ancient  Hindus, 
240,  in  U.  S.  A.,  246;  has  right 
to  wife's  earnings  among  an- 
cient Hindus,  239,  ancient  Ro- 
mans, 241,  among  French,  242, 
in  U.  S.  A.,  221;  the  household 
head  in  modern  simple  family, 
329.  (See  Adoption,  Conjuml 
abstinence,  Conjugal  sympathy. 
Marital  discipline,  et.  sq..  Mat- 
rimonial property.  Residence, 
Wife.) 

Husband-purchase,  67 
Huth,  170 
Huxley,  340  N.  1 
Hyades,  2.     (See  Yahgan.) 


Index 


375 


Ibsen,  332 

Iliad,  4 

Illegitimacy,  a  cause  of  infanti- 
cide, 46,  48,  119,  among 
Kabyles,  57;  a  cause  of  foeti- 
cide, 47,  48;  a  factor  in  infant 
mortality,  52,  112,  in  case  of 
no  bride-price,  66;  attitude  of 
society  towards,  119-20,  among 
ancient  Hebrews,  132,  155, 
French,  136,  265,  in  U.  S.  A., 
160,  among  ancient  Hindus, 
264;  rare  among  Melanesians, 
126;  matronymy  in,  249;  proper 
attitude   towards,    350 

^ciitation,  in  education,  90-2,  99, 
268;  relation  of,  to  recapitula- 
tion,  91;     among   Australians, 

103,  Point    Barrow     Eskimo, 

104,  Ewe  -  Speaking     Peoples, 
106,  ancient   Chinese,    109 

Incest,  punishment  for,  165, 
among  Melanesians,  126,  180, 
Australians,  178,  ancient  He- 
brews, 184,  185,  Babylonians, 
185,  in  U.  S.  A.,  189,  among 
Kabyles,  318 ;  origin  of  aversion 
to,  173-4;  classificatory  system 
an,  regulation,  256.  (See  Avoid- 
ance.) 

Individual  variation,  the  key  to 
natural  selection,  20;  lack  of 
tolerance  for,  a  cause  of  in- 
fanticide, 46,  among  Ewe- 
Speaking  Peoples,  56;  in  rela- 
tion to  family,  91,  93,  340-1, 
342 ;  encouraged  by  kindergar- 
ten, 342 

Infancy,  meaning  of  prolongation 
of,  20,  25;  defined,  20;  duration 
of,  among  animals,  22-3,  in 
different  stages  of  human  par- 
enthood, 90,  92,  93;  relation 
between  environment  and,  28- 
9,  34,  340-1.  (See  Age  at  in- 
itiation et  sq.) 

Infant-betrothal,  62,  63,  64,  68, 
168,  169,  199;  among  Yahgan, 
69,  Point  Barrow  Eskimo,  70, 
Central  Eskimo,  70,  Melane- 
sians, 70,  Ewe-Speaking  Peo- 
ples, 71,  Tshi-Speaking  Peoples, 

72,  Yoruba-Speaking   Peoples, 

73,  129,  Thompson   River   In- 
dians, 73 ;  in  matriarchal  family. 


279;  in  patriarchal  family,  299. 

(See  Betrothal.) 

Infant  death-rate,  among  poor  of 
York, 34 ;  high  natural.precludes 
infanticide,  44;  in  civilisation, 
52;  among  Veddahs,  53,  Yah- 
gan, 54,  Thompson  River  In- 
dians, 57;  in  primitive  simple 
family,  268 

Infanticide,  52;  among  animals, 
2$  N.  i;  at  death  of  mother,  26, 
44,  45,  among  Tshi-Speaking 
Peoples,  56,  Thompson  River 
Indians,  57;  causes  of,  44-59; 
for  benefit  of  older  child,  45; 
of  twins,  45,  46,  among  Aus- 
tralians, 54,  Yoruba-Speaking 
Peoples,  57;  among  primitive 
nomads,  45;  female,  47,  61,  167, 
among  Yahgan,  54,  Behring 
Strait  Eskimo,  55,  Central  Es- 
kimo, 56,  ancient  Arabs,  58,  a 
factor  :n  polyandry,  140,  led  to 
marriage  by  capture,  172,  a 
result  of  exogamy,  172,  in 
patriarchate  299;  methods  of, 
47 ;  among  Behring  Strait  Es- 
kimo, 55,  Melanesians,  56,  Tshi- 
Speaking  Peoples,  56,  Thomp- 
son River  Indians,  57,  ancient 
Arabs,  58;  exposure  a  modifi- 
cation of,  47,  among  Behring 
Strait  Eskimo,  55;  punishment 
of,  48,  among  Thompson  River 
Indians,  48,  Kabyles,  57-8,  an- 
cient Arabs,  58;  usual  within 
stated  time  after  birth,  48, 
among  Australians,  54;  survi- 
vals of,  48,  among  Melanesians, 
56;  not  practiced  by  Veddahs, 
53;  among  Point  Barrow  Es- 
kimo, 55,  Central  Eskimo,  55-6, 
Melanesians,    56,   Kabyles,  57- 

8,  ancient  Romans,  59;  male, 
among  Melanesians,  56;  case  of, 
among  Ewe-Speaking  Peoples, 
58;  an  expression  of  parental 
mastery,  60 ;  in  primitive  simple 
family,  268;  a  sin,  301 ;  murder, 
333.     (See  Father.) 

Inheritance,  facts  of,  enter  into 
desirability  of  offspring,  49;  in 
Roman  law,  59,  338  (see 
Romans,  ancient) ;  women  and, 
61  .V.  I,  93,  281  (see  Widow); 
among  Babylonians,  78-9,  108- 

9,  Veddahs,  103,  257,287,Cen- 


376 


Index 


Inheritance — Contimied. 

tral  Eskimo,  105,  Melanesians, 

105,  Ewe-Speaking     Peoples, 

106,  Yoruba-Speaking  Peoples, 
106,  ancient  Arabs,  loS,  in  U. 
S.  A.,  no;  of  craft  secrets,  92; 
in  highest  stage  of  parenthood, 
93 ;  forms  of,  of  patrimony, 
93-4;  of  totems,  269,  272, 
among  Australians,  288;  in 
primitive  simple  family,  272-3; 
in  matriarchal  family,  281;  as 
an  evidence  of  transition  from 
matriarchate,  297-8,  among 
Melanesians,  309-10;  in  patri- 
archate, 303 

Initiation  ceremonial,  nature  of, 
31-2,  33-4:  marriage  prior  to, 
forbidden,  31,  among  Yahgan, 
36;  among  Yahgan,  36,  Austra- 
lians. 36-7,  Thompson  River 
Indians,  39-40.  (See  Age  at 
initiation.  Emancipation,  Sex 
segregation.) 

Initiation  fees,  29:  among  Point 
Barrow  Eskimo,  37,  Melan- 
esians,  38 

Irish,  ancient,  4 


J 


James,  ix  N .  i 

Jealousy,  a  cause  of  infanticide, 
46;  among  Veddahs,  122,  Yah- 
gan, 122,  148,  Australians,  178, 
Melanesians,  206;  an  argument 
against  original  promiscuity, 
146;  lack  of  observation  of,  162 
A^.  3;  cause  of  exogamy,  173, 
284.    (See  Suicide  for  love.) 

Jevons,  52,  306 

Johnson,  121,  357 

Jus  primcB  noctce,  121.  (See  De- 
floration ceremonial.) 

Justinian,  Institutes  of,  4.  (See 
Romans,  ancient.) 

Juvenile  criminality,  355 


K 


Kabyles,  3,  40,  57-8,  74-5,  108, 
130-1,  151-3,  182-3,  210-11, 
235~7.  262,  317-19 

Kalevala,  200 

Kautsky,  121,  146,  172,  253,  254, 
255.  257,  282,  286,  309 

Keane,  8 


Keller,  4 

Kent,  4 

Kindergarten,   343,   355 
King,  imposes  fines  among  ancient 
Hindus,   79,  109,    134,  214;  re- 
ceives tax  from  low  prostitutes 
among  Ewe-Speaking   Peoples, 
128;  may  interfere  for  a  seducer 
among  Babylonians,  133,  pun- 
ishes prostitutes  among  ancient 
Hindus,      135;      among     Tshi- 
Speaking      Peoples,     151,    312, 
Yoruba-Speaking  Peoples,  151, 
233,     Ewe-Speaking     Peoples, 
233,  Babylonians,  238,  ancient 
Chinese,    324,  disposes  in  mar- 
riage,     168;     assumes     kinship 
functions,      276,     304,     among 
ancient  Hindus,  322  ;  and  vasii- 
right,  286.    (See  Group  control.) 
Kinsfolk,    consent    of,    necessary 
for    infanticide,    etc.,    48,    279; 
requireinfanticide,  48;  head,  61, 
92,   274,   304;    duty  of,  to  pro- 
vide bride-price,    etc.,     66,    67, 
275,  among  Tshi-Speaking  Peo- 
ples, 128,  Ewe-Speaking  Peoples, 
207,Melanesians,3io,3ii ; claim 
of,   on  property,    66,   227,   275, 
among    Thompson    River    In- 
dians, 7  4, 3 1 5,  Kabyles,  23  5, 3 1 7, 
318,  Yoruba-Speaking  Peoples, 
313,  ancient   Hebrews,  320,  an- 
cient Romans,  338;  consent  of, 
to  divorce,  143.     {See  Kinship.) 
Kinship,  guardianship,  a  function 
of,  30,  31,32,  61,  67,  98,  99,  113, 
144,      194-5.      199.     275,     279, 
327-8,     among     Tshi-Speaking 
Peoples,  128,  Kabyles,  153,  318, 
Yoruba-Speaking  Peoples,  207, 
Ewe-Speaking      Peoples,     311, 
marriage  restrictions  correspond 
to  notions  of,   163,  269,  among 
Tshi-      and      Yoruba-Speaking 
Peoples,    181,    ancient    Hindus, 
186;  punishment  a  function  of, 
165,   194.  275,  among  Kabyles, 
57-8,  130,  318,  Australians,  69, 
ancient      Hindus,      134,     Ewe- 
Speaking  Peoples,  312,  Yoruba- 
Speaking  Peoples,  313 ;  systems, 
251-2,  253,  meaning  of  classifi- 
catory    system,    256-7,    among 
Australians,  178,    258,  Yahgan, 
258,  Point  Barrow  Eskimo,  259, 
Ewe-  and  Tshi-Speaking   Peo- 


Index 


377 


pies,  260,  ancient  Chinese,  265, 
ancient  Romans,  265,  in  primi- 
tive simple  family,  268-9; 
groups,  267,  282,  traces  of, 
304-5 ;  mobility  adverse  to,  ties, 
354  (See  Blood- feud.) 
Kohler,   146,  147,   201,  253,  256, 

307.  359  ^V-  I 
Kovalesky,  306 
Krauss,  253,  305,  306      ' 
Kropotkin,   25 
Kulischer,  146 
Kwakiutl  Indians,  297  N.  2 


Lactation,  social  causes  of  disuse 
of  function  of,  26-7,  45-6;  hab- 
its vary  from  class  to  class,  27, 
among  ancient  Chinese,  41; 
need  of  observation  of,  habits, 
28 

Lactation  period,  among  mar- 
supials, 2  2  ;  among  old-world 
monkeys,  23  ;  longest  in  human 
species,  26;  among  lower  type 
of  hunters  and  fishers,  26,  268; 
among  herders  or  tillers,  26; 
proper,  in  modem  life,  27; 
among  Yahgan,  35,  Austrahans, 
36,  Point  Barrow  Eskimo,  37, 
Central  Eskimo,  38,  Melan- 
esians,  38,  Ewe-  and  Yoruba- 
Speaking  Peoples,  38,  Kabyles, 
40,  ancient  Arabs,  40,  ancient 
Chinese,  41 ;  infanticide  due  to 
prolonged,  45 ;  prolonged,  de- 
creases power  to  conceive,  50; 
characteristic  of  stages  of  par- 
enthood, 90,  pregnancy  during, 
injurious,  96;  in  primitive  sim- 
ple family,  268;  in  matriarchal 
family,  279;  in  patriarchal 
family,  299.  (See  Conjugal  ab- 
stinence.) 

Land,  as  a  dowry  among  ancient 
Hebrews,  77,  inherited  among 
Melanesians,  105,  232,309,310, 
ancient  Hebrews,  237,  Veddahs, 
257,  287;  among  Babylonians, 
238,  263,  Australians,  289, 
Wyandots,  295,  Ewe-Speaking 
Peoples,  311,  Tshi-Speaking 
Peoples,  312,  Yoruba-Speaking 
Peoples,  313,  Thompson  River 
Indians,  314-5;  in  primitive 
tribe,     271-2;     in     compound 


family,     274,    275;    in    ethnic 
society,    274,    in    patriarchate, 

^  303 

Lang,  4,  148,  176,  257,  284,  285 

Lavelaye,  305,  306,  308 

Lea,  121, 171 

Le  Play,  305.  337 

Letourneau,  121,  145,  200,  201 

Letourneux,  3  .      {See  Kabyles.) 

Levasseur,  52 

Levirate,  165,  250,  253;  origin  of, 
255-6;  among  Yoruba-Speaking 
Peoples,  261,  ancient  Hebrews, 
262-3,  ancient  Hindus,  264;  in 
patriarchate,  302 

Lex  talionis,  among  Babylonians, 
78,    ancient  Hebrews,  320 

Lichtschein,  3 

Lifting-up  ceremonial,  precludes 
infanticide,  48;  in  patriarchate, 
249 ;  among  Tshi-Speaking  Peo- 
ples, 260,  ancient  Chinese,  264 

Li  Ki,  3,  100.  (See  Chinese,  an- 
cient.) 

Lippert,  loi,  102,  201 

Loeb,  230,  237 

Lubbock,  100,  141,  146,  172  174, 
200,  253,  256 


M 


McCuUough,  355 

McLennan,  3,  52,  146,  172,  173, 
199,  200,  253,  254,  255,  256, 
283,  284,  286,  307 

Magic,  95,  96;  among  Australians, 
54-5,  104,  122,  123,  149, 
Thompson  River  Indians,  57, 
ancient  Hindus,  58,  inherit- 
ed by  Melanesians,  105,  309, 
Thonipson  River  Indians,  315. 
(See  Animism,  Toteinism.) 

Maine,  60  A'',  i,  256,  306,  307,  308, 

337 

Malthus,   53 

Manu,  laws  of,  3,  200.  (See 
Hindus,  ancient.) 

Marital  discipline,  224;  among 
Babylonians,  156,  ancient  Hin- 
dus, 157,  214,  Ewe-Speaking 
Peoples,  207,  Thompson  River 
Indians,  209,  ancient  Arabs,  211 

Marital  mastery,  ownership,  etc., 
118,  142,  199,  224,  230,  268; 
modified  in  dower  and  dowry, 
66;  among  Babylonians,  77, 
Yahgan,     203,     Point    Barrow 


378 


Index 


Marital  mastery — Continued. 
Eskimo,  204,  Tshi-Speaking 
Peoples,  207,  Kabyles,  211, 
ancient  Hebrews,  212,  ancient 
Hindus,  214,  239,  ancient  Chi- 
nese, 215,  218,  240,  ancient 
Romans,  219,  220,  240-1, 
French,  220,  242,  in  U.  S.  A., 
221;  in  patriarchate,  299,  in 
modern  simple  family,  329; 
favoured  by  Christianity,  335; 
disadvantages  of,  345-6 

Marital  obligation,  197,  328;  to 
pay  wife's  fine  or  debt,  228, 
among  Ewe-Speaking  Peoples, 
71,  Yoruba-Speaking  Peoples, 
233  Kabyles,  236,  Babylonians, 
238;  among  Babylonians,  156, 
157,  Thompson  River  Indians, 
209,  Kabyles,  211,  ancient 
Hebrews,  212,  ancient  Hindus, 
214,  230,  ancient  Chinese,  218, 
French,  220,  in  U.  S.  A.,  221, 
245,  among  ancient  Romans, 
242 

Marriage,  factors  postponing,  50- 
I ;  incumbent  after  a  certain 
age,  63,  299;  a  vagary  of  legal, 
63  N.  I,  139-40;  relation  be- 
tween parenthood  and,  112, 
144-5,  345-6;  at  set  seasons, 
114;  defined,  115,  in  Roman 
law,  158;  forms  of,  137,  145  ;  lax 
and  brittle,  141;  sexual  inter- 
course regulated  in,  162  A''.  3; 
witnesses  to,  193-4,  199,  among 
Kabyles,  262,  319,  ancierit  Ro- 
mans, 219,  French,  220,  in 
U.  S.  A.,  220;  religious,  194, 
among  ancient  Hindus,  187, 
213,  214,  215,  Wyandots,  206, 
Yoruba-Speaking  Peoples,  207, 
ancient  Romans,  219,  in  U.S.A., 
220,  in  patriarchate,  301,  among 
Kabyles,  319,  mediaeval,  334  iV. 
1;  common  law,  220;  early,  ad- 
vocated by  Protestantism;  335, 
criterion  of  highest  type  of, 
345-6;  evils  of  proprietary, 
345-6,  antagonistic  to  wise 
sexual  choice,  347.  (See  Ani- 
mals, Concubinage,  Monogamy', 
Pairing  season.  Polyandry, 
Polygyny.^ 

Marriage-brokers,  167;  among  an- 
cient Chinese,  219 

Marriage  by   barter,  62,  68,  165; 


leads  to  infant-betrothal,  68; 
among  Australians,  175;  in 
primitive  simple  family,  268 

Marriage  by  capture,  68,  162, 
1 90- 1,  199;  an  indirect  cause  of 
infanticide,  47,  172;  combines 
with  marriage  by  purchase, 
63-4;  leads  to  individual  mar- 
riage, 146;  introduced  com- 
munal marriage,  146;  leads  to 
exogamy,  172;  preceded  by  ex- 
ogamy, 172;  original  method 
of  marriage,  173;  avoidance  an 
outcome  of,  174;  ceremonial 
survivals  of,  191-2;  unfavour- 
able to  wife,  198  A^  4;  extent  of, 
200;  prior  to  marriage  by  pur- 
chase, 201 ;  an  outcome  of  mar- 
riage by  purchase,  201;  among 
Yahgan,  202,  Australians,  203, 
ancient  Hebrews,  212,  ancient 
Hindus,  213;  cause  of  mat- 
ronymy,  253;  leads  to  patro- 
nymy,  255;  leads  to  clans,  286. 
(See  Rape  symbol.) 

Marriage  by  free  consent,  191, 
199;  among  ancient  Hindus, 
213 

Marriage  by  magic,  162;  among 
Australians,  177,  203-4 

Marriage  by  purchase,  62,  63,  65, 
68,  199;  gives  value  to  daugh- 
ters, 45,  49 ;  combines  with  mar- 
riage by  capture,  63-4;  with 
marriage  by  service,  65,  178, 
278-9,  among  Central  Eskimo, 
70,  Tshi-Speaking  Peoples,  73, 
ancient  Hebrews,  77;  among 
Yahgan,  69,  Melanesians,  70-1, 
Ewe-Speaking  Peoples,  71,  Tshi- 
Speaking  Peoples,  72,  Kabyles, 
210-11,  ancient  Hebrews,  212, 
ancient  Romans,  219-220;  in 
second  stage  of  parenthood, 
92;  a  factor  in  polygamy,  140; 
endogamous  marriage  by  cap- 
ture a  transition  between,  and 
marriage  by  free  contract,  191 
N.  i;  in  patriarchate,  191,  299; 
transition  from,  to  marriage  by 
free  contract,  191;  more  fav- 
ourable to  wife  than  marriage 
by  capture,  194,  among  ances- 
tor-worshippers, 198;  developed 
from  marriage  by  capture, 
201 ;  leads  to  patronymy,  255. 
(See  Bride-price.) 


Index 


379 


Marriage  by  service,  62,  65; 
residence  in,  30,  65,  166,  278, 
among  Tshi-Speaking  Peoples, 
73,  Yahgan,  203;  among  Yah- 
gan,  202-3;  i^  primitive  simple 
family,  268.  (See  Marriage  by 
purchase.) 

Marriage  ceremonial,  199;  among 
Yoruba-Speaking    Peoples,    73, 

207,  Veddahs,  102,  Yahgan, 
202,  Behring  Strait  Eskimo, 
204,  Wyandots,  206,  Melane- 
sians,  206,  Ewe-Speaking  Peo- 

fles,  206-7,  Thompson  River 
ndians,  208-9, ancientHebrews, 
212,  ancient  Hindus,  213,  214, 
240,  321,  ancient  Chinese,  215- 
18,  ancient  Romans,  219 

Marriage  certificate,  suggested 
data  for,   344  N.  2 

Marriage  classes,  among  Austra- 
lians, 123,  149, 168, 177-8,  203, 
Melanesians,  180,  259-60,    310 

Marriage,  communal,  see  Group 
marriage,  Promiscuity 

Marriage  gifts,  66,  191,  192,  268; 
among  Melanesians,  70-1, 
Thompson   River   Indians,    74, 

208,  Veddahs,  202,  Wyandots, 

206,  Babylonians,  212-13,  ^^" 
cient  Chinese,  218,  219 

Marriage,  part-time,  120,  141,  146 
Marriage,  trial,  120,  141-2,  349 
Marriage   visits,  196;   among  Ka- 
byles,  7  5 , Ewe-Speaking  Peoples, 

207,  Thompson  River  Indians, 
208 

Marro,  30  N.  2 

Maternity,  determines  woman's 
age-class,  32  AA.  i.  (See  Child- 
rearing.) 

Mathews,  175 

Matriarchate,  67,  278-82,  283;  in 
unpaid-for  marriage,  65  ;  among 
Ewe-Speaking  Peoples  7 1 ,  Tshi- 
Speaking  Peoples,  72,  Central 
Eskimo,  294,  Wyandots,  294; 
control  of  family  in,  248;  rela- 
tion of,  to  matronymy,  248, 
254,  278;  origin  of,  285;  con- 
troversy about,  297,  307; 
evidences  of  transition  from, 
297-8;  coexists  with  patriar- 
chate, 305, 307-8 

Matrimonial  property,  systems, 
225-6,  230,  among  French, 
242-4,  in  U.  S.  A.,  245-6,  in 


modern  simple  family,  328, 
331-2;  inheritance  of,  226-8,  in 
modern  simple  family,  328.  (see 
Husband,  Wife.) 

Matronymy,  164,  268;  among 
Tshi-Speaking  Peoples,  181, 
260,  ancient  Hebrews  (?),  184, 
262,  Australians,  258,  Wyan- 
dots, 259,  Melanesians,  259-60, 
Ewe-Speaking  Peoples,  260, 
Yoruba-Speaking  Peoples,  261, 
Aryans,  307-8;  distinguished 
from  matriarchate,  248,  252, 
297  A^  I  ;■  coexists  with  patri- 
archate, 248-9  ;  in  case  of  illigiti- 
mates,  249,  among  ancient  Ro- 
mans, 265,  French,  265,  in 
U.  S.  A.,  266;  in  slavery,  249, 
254,  among  Babylonians,  263; 
origin  of,  253-4;  precedes  pa- 
tronymy,  254,  307;  patronymy 
precedes,  255;  always  accom- 
panies matriarchate,  278.  (See 
Patronymy.) 

Mayne,    256 

Mayo-Smith,  52 

Melanesians,  2,  56,  70-1,  105-6, 
125-7,  150,  180,  206,232,309-11 

Mendelian  theory,  20  A'^.  i 

Metchnikoff,   356 

Mill,  8 

Monogamy,  among  birds  and 
mammals,  113,  137,  146,  Ved- 
dahs, 148,  Yahgan,  148,  Point 
Barrow  Eskimo,  149,  Central 
Eskimo,  150,  Thompson  River 
Indians,  151,  ancient  Romans, 
158,  French,  158,  in  U.  S.  A., 
160;  defined,  137;  of  poverty, 
140,  among  Melanesians,  150; 
accompanied  by  promiscuity 
and  divorce,  141;  limited,  144, 
268;  relation  between,  and  off- 
spring, 144-5;  first  form  of 
marriage,  147;  sexual  choice 
in,  169,  345  ;  of  simple  primitive 
family,  267-8;  in  matriarchal 
family,  279  ;  in  patriarchal  fam- 
ily, 298;  in  modem  simple 
family,  330;  highest  type  of 
family,   345 

Morgan,  20  N.  i,  147,  173,  253, 
256 

Morning-gift,  66;  among  Kabyles, 
152 

Morrow,  344  N.  2,  350  N.  2,  354 

N-  I.  356,  357 


38o 


Index 


Mother,  protects  adult  son  among 
Australians,  37;  son  separates 
from,  31,  98,  229,  268,  among 
Australians,  36,  Ewe-Speaking 
Peoples,  38,  Melanesians,  180; 
life  of,  more  valuable  than  that 
of  infant,  47,  48;  postponement 
of  conception  of  benefit  to,  49 ; 
benefit  of  infanticide  to,  50; 
inherits,  among  ancientRomans, 
59,  ancient  Arabs,  237,  ancient 
Hebrews,  237,  ancient  Hindus, 
340;  support  of  widowed,  61  N. 
I,  among  ancient  Hindus,  79, 
ancient  Chinese,  81,  Thompson 
River  Indians,  315;  sells  off- 
spring to  father  among  Ewe- 
^eaking  Peoples,  7 1 ;  right  of, 
to  services  and  earnings  of 
minor  child  in  U.  S.  A.,  88; 
status  of,  affects  offspring,  94 
(see  Concubinage);  offspring 
inherit  from,  among  Ewe- 
Speaking  Peoples,  106,  Baby- 
lonians, 109,  238,  239,  ancient 
Hindus,  240,  Tshi  -  Speaking 
Peoples,  312;  widowed,  subject 
to  sons,  229,  among  ancient 
Hindus,  214,  ancient  Chinese, 
215;  responsible  for  support  and 
education  of  offspring  under 
special  circumstances,  among 
Kabyles,  153,  French,  150,  right 
of  custody  and  guardianship 
of,  in  U.  S.  A.,  339.  (See 
Daughter,  Divorce,  Malriarchate, 
Matronomy,  Mourning  rites. 
Parental  affection,  etc.) 

Mother  -  in  -  law,  instruction  by, 
among  Australians,  3  7 ;  provides 
hair  among  Australians,  69; 
subordination  to,  among  Cen- 
tral Eskimo,  70,  ancient  Chin- 
ese, 80-1.  (See  Avoidance  cere- 
monial. Parents-in-law.) 

Mott,  344  N.  I 

Mourning  rites,  among  Austra- 
lians, 69,  ancient  Chinese,  82, 
158,  217,  218,  241,  265,  322, 
323,  325,  Behring  Strait  Es- 
kimo, 259,  ancient  Romans. 
326;  for  offspring,  95,  96-7, 
among  Central  Eskimo,  105, 
206,  Australians,  258.  (See 
Widow,  Widower.) 

Mucke,  102,  284,  286 

Muller,  3 


Murdock,  2 

Mutilation  practices,  at  initiatioo 
of  youth,  31,  98,  among  Aus- 
tralians, 104,  124;  denote  par- 
ental interest,  97-8,  100;  among 
Point  Barrow  Eskimo,  104, 
Behring  Strait  Eskimo,  105, 
Central  Eskimo,  105,  Melan- 
esians, 106;  for  adultery,  116-7, 
among  Wyandots,  125,  Tshi- 
Speaking  Peoples,  128 


N 


Name,  among  Yahgan,  258,  Aus- 
tralians, 258,  Behring  Strait  Es- 
kimo, 259,  Tshi-Speaking  Peo- 
ples, 260,  Yoruba  -  Speaking 
Peoples,  261,  Thompson  River 
Indians,  261,  314,  Wyandots, 
295.     (See  Exogamy.) 

Naming,  significance  of,  97. 
among  Australians,  258 

Naming  ceremonial,  precludes  in- 
fanticide, 48;  indicative  of 
desirability  of  offspring,  49; 
among  ancient  Hindus,  109, 
ancient  Chinese,  264;  expresses 
idea  of  descent,  249 

Natural  selection,  relation  of 
infancy  to,  20;  relation  of  fer- 
tility to,  21;  periodicity  of  rut 
an  outcome  of,  114 ;  relation  of 
sexual  selection  to,   171 

Nelson,  2 

Nephew-aunt  marriage,  forbidden 
among  ancient  Arabs,  183, 
ancient  Hebrews,  184;  case  of, 
among  ancient  Hebrews,  184; 
allowed  in  French  law  under 
special  circumstances,   189 

Newsholme,    52 

Niebohr,  35,  67,  230 

Niyoga,  165,  186,  250;  levirate  a 
special  case  of,  256;  among 
ancient  Hindus,  263;  in  patri- 
archate,   302 

Nomenclature,    meaning   of,    256 

Nubility,  relation  between,  and 
marriage  among  Yahgan,  36, 
Behring  Strait  Eskimo,  37-8, 
Kabyles,  40.  (See  Age  at  Pu- 
berty.) 

O 

Odyssey,  4,  170 

Offspring,  cost  of  rearing,  a  cause 


Index 


381 


of  infanticide,  45;  desirability 
of,  48-9,  52,  229,  among  Point 
Barrow  Eskimo,  55,  a  factor 
in  polygyny,  140,  leads  to 
levirate,  256,  in  patriarchate, 
298,  in  modern  simple  family, 
333,  conditions  under  which, 
would  increase,  354;  birth  of, 
a  requirement  for  recognised 
marriage,  49.  among  Yahgan, 
122;  dedication  of,  to  deity, 
119,  among  Tshi-Speaking 
Peoples,  72,  ancient  Hebrews, 
76,  Babylonians,  78;  compelled 
to  live  with  father,  among 
French,  86;  interest  of,  para- 
mount in  U.  S.  A.,  88,  in  highest 
stage  of  parenthood,  93,  in 
modern  simple  family,  333;  a 
form  of  capital,  92;  (See  Child- 
ren, Father,  Inheritance,  Mother, 
Parental  affection  et  sq.,  Sacri- 
fice.) 

Ogle,  52 

Ostrogorski,  357 


Pahlavi  texts,  170,  200 

Pairing  season,  among  animals, 
114;  traces  of,  among  mankind, 
114,  120;  accompanied  by  pro- 
miscuity, 146 

Parental  affection,  in  first  stage 
of  parenthood,  90,  99;  among 
Yahgan,  103,  Australians,  103, 
Point  Barrow  Eskimo,  104, 
Central  Eskimo,  105,  ancient 
Hindus,  109,  ancient  Chinese, 
no 

Parental  cannibalism,  60.  (See 
Children.) 

Parental  care,  enables  immature 
offspring  to  survive,  20;  the 
family  originates  in  need  of, 
2o-i;  among  animals,  21-2, 
24-5;  factors  determining  dura- 
tion and  character  of,  among 
mankind,  28-9;  facts  showing 
independence  of,  29-32,  35-43 1 
of  married  daughters,  30, 
among  Kabyles,  40,  75,  152, 
ancient  Hebrews,  41,  in  U.  S. 
A.,  43,  among  Yahgan,  203; 
among  Yahgan,  36,  Point  Bar- 
row Eskimo,  3  7,  Central  Eskimo, 
38,   Yoruba-Speaking   Peoples, 


38,  Thompson  River  Indians, 
38-9,  Australians,  103,  French, 
1 59-60 ;  relation  of,  to  marriage, 
112,  114;  of  widowed  daughter, 

327,  among  ancient  Hebrews, 
41,  132,  Kabyles,  236,  319,  Cen- 
tral Eskimo,  294 

Parental  control,  among  French, 
86;  in  modern  simple  family, 

328.  (See  Sexual  choice.) 
Parental     discipline,     in     killing, 

seUing,  etc.,  offspring,  60,  118; 
among  Yoruba-Speaking  Peo- 
ples, 73,  Kabyles,  74,  ancient 
Hebrews,  76,  Babylonians,  78, 
ancient  Hindus,  79,  ancient 
Chinese,  80,  French,  86-7,  in  U. 
S.  A.,  88,  Thompson  River 
Indians,  107;  no,  in  first  stage 
of  parenthood,  90;  in  second 
stage  of  parenthood,  92,  98;  in 
matriarchal  family,  279;  in 
patriarchal  family,  299 

Parental  liability,  among  Yoruba- 
Speaking  Peoples,  73,  Kabyles, 
74,  130,  152,  236,  ancient  Ro- 
mans, 85,  in  U.  S.  A.,  88 

Parental  mastery,  60,  67;  dis- 
tinguished from  parental  owner- 
ship, 60  N.  I,  90,  299;  among 
Australians,  103;  in  primitive 
simple  family,  268 

Parental  neglect,  among  Thomp- 
son River  Indians,  39;  in  civili- 
sation, 52;  State  intervenes  on, 
in  U.  S.  A.,  88;  in  low  stage  of 
parenthood,  90,  99,  268;  cus- 
tody   of    offspring    forfeit    for, 

333 

Parental  obligation,  among  Ka- 
byles, 40,  ancient  Arabs,  40,  in 
U.  S.  A.,  42,  among  ancient 
Romans,  85 r  ancient  Hindus, 
109;  significance  of,  61;  to 
marry  off  offspring,  63,  among 
Melanesians,  71,  ancient  He- 
brews, 77,  Babylonians,  78,  79, 
ancient  Hindus,  80;  not  pre- 
vailing in  French  law,  88,  in 
patriarchate  299;  in  modem 
simple  family,  341,  342,  343. 
(See  Guardianship .) 

Parental  ownership,  60-2,  66,  118, 
119;  among  Ewe  -  Speaking 
Peoples,  71,  Tshi-Speaking 
Peoples,  72,  ancient  Hebrews, 
76-7,  Babylonians,  77,  ancient 


382 


Index 


Parental  ownership — Coniinncd. 
Chinese,  81,  215,  ancient  Hin- 
dus, 214,  239,  French,  242;  in 
second  stage  of  parenthood, 92- 
3;  incompatible  with  high  tyyje 
of  parenthood.  346.  (See 
Parental  tnastcry,  Patria  po- 
testas.) 
Parental  sympathy,  greater  in 
foeticide,  etc.,  than  in  infanti- 
cide. 44;  exposure  indicative  of 
increasing,  47;  customs  indica- 
tive of,  95,  1 01,  102 

Parenthood,  three  stages  of,  90-5, 
332;  juridical,  112,  229,  250, 
among  Ewe-Speaking  Peoples, 
223,  260,  Tshi-Speaking  Peo- 
ples, 261,  Kabyles,  262,  ancient 
Hebrews.  262,  ancient  Hindus, 
263,  264;  treatment  of  illegit- 
imacy a  criterion  of,  120;  en- 
lightened, of  future,  349 

Parents,  supported  by  offspring, 
60-1,  among  Yahgan,  54,  an- 
cient Hindus,  79,  ancient  Chi- 
nese, 82,  French,  87  (see  Filial 
obligation);  receive  status  name, 
97,  among  Yahgan,  103  (see 
Teknonymy);  substitutes  for, 
99,  1 12-3;  inherit  among  an- 
cient Arabs,  237,  ancient  Hin- 
dus, 240;  beliefs  about,  in 
reproduction,  250,  among  Aus- 
tralians, 258,  Ewe-Speaking 
Peoples,  260,  ancient  Hindus, 
263,  in  modern  simple  family, 
333;  not  entitled  to  earnings  of 
offspring,  353.  (See  Education, 
Fasting,  Mutilation  practices, 
Parricide.) 

Parents-in-law,  obligations  to, 
among  ancient  Chinese,  80-1, 
83-4,  Yahgan,  203,  in  second 
stage  of  parenthood,  93 ;  avoid- 
ance, respect  for,   174 

Parricide,  punishment  for,  among 
ancient  Chinese,  80,  ancient 
Romans,  326;  for  sake  of 
parent,  go  N.  1;  case  of,  among 
Kabyles,   182 

Parsons,   121 

Partition  of  patrimony,  274-5; 
among  Babylonians,  78,  Melan- 
esians,  105,  Yoruba-Speaking 
Peoples,  106,  Behring  Strait  Es- 
kimo, 290,  Thompson  River  In- 
dians, 315,  ancient  Hindus,  321, 


322;  in  patriarchal  family,  303; 
in  joint,  undivided  family,  303-4 

Pa /-marriage,  193 

Paton.  8 

Patria  potestas,  among  Romans, 
32  N.  2,  60  N.  I,  84-6,  338; 
when  forfeited  among  ancient 
Hindus,  79.  80;  distinguished 
from  paternal  mastery,  299  ;  not 
distinguished,  307 

Patriarchal  theory,  306-7 

Patriarchate,  traces  of  transition 
from  matriarchate  to,  281, 
among  Ewe-Speaking  Peoples, 
71,  Tshi-Speaking  Peoples,  72, 
Melanesians,  309-10;  traces 
of.  304,  327-30.  337.  among 
French,  86,  87,  242.  338-9, 
in  U.  S.  A.,  88,  339;  couvade  a 
sign  of,  loi;  relation  of,  to 
patronymy,  248;  distinguished 
from  primitive  paternal  power, 
249;  matronymy  in  slavery, 
outcome  of,  254;  ancestor- 
worship  in,  273;  break-up  of 
clans  due  to,  309;  among  Ary- 
ans, 327  ;  sanctioned  by  Christi- 
anity, 335-6.  (See  Herders, 
Patria  potestas.) 

Patron5'my,  164,  268;  couvade  an 
expression  of,  100,  loi;  tek- 
nonymy indicates  transition  to, 
102  ;  transition  from  matronymy 
to,  175,  254;  favourable  to  mar- 
ital power,  230;  distinguished 
from  patriarchate,  248,  250; 
precedes  matronymy,  255; 
origin  of,  255,  307  ;  among  Yah- 
gan, 258,  Australians,  258, 
Melanesians,  260,  Ewe-Speak- 
ing Peoples,  260,  ancient  Hin- 
dus, 263,  ancient  Chinese,  265, 
ancient  Romans,  265 ;  in  modern 
simple  family,  327 

Pearson,  308,  337,  356 

Pentateuch,  3.  (See  Hebrews, 
ancient.) 

Phallicism,  300-1 ;  among  Ewe- 
Speaking  Peoples,  56,  Yoruba- 
Spcaking  Peoples,  57.  (See 
Prostitution.) 

Phratry,  267,  270-1;  relation  of, 
to  clan,  284-5 ;  among  Wyan- 
dots,  295.     (See  Exogamy). 

Ploss,  30  Si.  2,  T,^,  52,  99,  100,  loi, 
121 

Polyandry,     defined,     137;     rare 


Index 


383 


among  animals,  137;  forms  of, 
139-40,  164;  first  modification 
of  promiscuity,  146,  307; 
among  Central  Eskim.o,  150, 
Melanesians,  150;  royal,  among 
Tshi-  and  Yoruba  -  Speaking 
Peoples,  151;  leads  to  matro- 
nymy,  253;  levirate,  a  survival 
of,  256;  explains  classificatory 
system,  256;  in  matriarchate, 
279,  286;  in  patriarchate,  298 

Polygamy,  causes  of,  140;  satis- 
fies desire  for  variety,  141; 
more  favourable  to  offspring 
than  hmited  monogamy,  144; 
legal,  indictable  in  U.  S.  A., 
160 

Polygyny,  an  indirect  cause  of 
infanticide,  46;  and  child-care, 
112;  among  birds  and  mammals, 
113.  137.  Yahgan,  148,  177, 
Point  Barrow  Eskimo,  149, 
Behring  Strait  Eskimo,  149, 
Central  Eskimo,  150,  205-6, 
Wyandots,  150,  179,  Melan- 
esians, 150,  Ewe-Speaking  Peo- 
§les,  150-1,  Tshi-  and  Yoruba- 
peaking  Peoples,  151,  Thomp- 
son River  Indians,  151,  ancient 
Hebrews,  154,  155,  ancient 
Hindus,  157,  187,  214,  ancient 
Chinese,  241;  defined,  137; 
sister-,  138,  164,  279,  among 
Thompson  River  Indians,  151, 
ancient  Chinese,  158;  restricted, 
139,  among  Babylonians,  155, 
156;  a  prerogative  of  the  in- 
fluential, 140,  among  Austra- 
lians, 148-9,  Point  Barrow 
Eskimo,  149,  Melanesians,  150, 
Ewe-Speaking  Peoples,  150-1, 
Thompson  River  Indians,  151; 
sexual  choice  in,  169,  345; 
matronymy,  a  convenience  in, 
253.  255;  of  simple  primitive 
family,  268;  in  matriarchal 
family ,  2  7  9 ,  2  8 1 ;  in  patriarchate, 
298,  302;  inferior  type  of  mar- 
riage, 345.  (See  Barrenness, 
Concubinage,  Residence,  Wives.) 

Post,  X,  3,  8,  67,  68,  121,  145.  147. 
170,    199,    230,   253,   282,   283, 

359 

Powell,  2 

Pregnancy,  taboos,  95,  100, 
among  Australians,  103-4,  Mel- 
anesians, 106,  Thompson  River 


Indians,  107,  ancient  Hebrews, 
108;  a  disgrace  for  unmarried, 
119  N.  I,  Melanesians,  126; 
among  Kabyles,  130,  318,  by  an- 
other may  invalidate  marriage 
in  U.  S.  A.,  136.  (See  Conjugal 
abstinence.) 

Primogeniture,  94;  among  ancient 
Chinese,  81,  83-4,  188,  Yahgan, 
103,  in  Dahomi,  260,  among 
Wyandots,  294,Thompson  River 
Indians,  314,  315,  ancient  He- 
brews, 319,  ancient  Hindus,  321, 
322,  ancient  Chinese,  325;  in 
patriarchate,  302 

Prohibitory  degrees,  among  Behr- 
ing Strait  Eskimo,  179,  Cen- 
tral Eskimo,  179,  Yoruba- 
Speaking  Peoples,  181,  Thomp- 
son River  Indians,  181,  ancient 
Arabs,  183,  ancient  Hebrews, 
184,  ancient  Romans,  188, 
French,  188-9,  in  U.  S.  A.,  189, 
mediaeval  church,  336.  (See 
Nephew-aunt  marriage.) 

Promiscuity,  sexual,  at  festivals, 
114,  among  Australians,  123-4, 
Central  Eskimo,  125,  Melan- 
esians, 125,  Yoruba-Speaking 
Peoples,  129;  coincident  with 
marriage,  115;  viewed  differ- 
ently in  case  of  both  sexes  and 
of  married  and  celibate.  115: 
hard  to  distinguish  from  prosti- 
tution, 118  N.  i;  accompanies 
monogamy,  141;  theory  of, 
146-7 ;  condemned  for  effect  on 
offspring,  332.  (See  Adultery, 
Celibacy.) 

Property,  idea  of,  undeveloped, 
90;  secret  crafts  a  form  of,  92; 
destroyed  at  death,  273,  281, 
among  Central  Eskimo,  105, 
293,  Yahgan,  288,  Point  Barrow 
Eskimo,  290,  Behring  Strait 
Eskimo,  291.  Wyandots,  294, 
in  patriarchate,  301,  among 
Ewe-Speaking  Peoples,  311, 
Tshi-Speaking  Peoples,  312-13, 
Yoruba-Speaking  Peoples,  313, 
Thompson  River  Indians,  3 1 5-7, 
forbidden  among  ancient  Ro- 
mans, 326;  in  primitive  horde, 
272;  in  compound  family,  273- 
5;  in  matriarchal  family,  281; 
in  patriarchate,  300,  303.  (See 
Clan,  Land,  Tribe.) 


3S4 


Index 


Prostitutes,  segregation  of,  119, 
among  Melanesians,  126,  Ewe- 
Speaking  Peoples,  128,  ancient 
Hebrews,  133,  ancient  Hindus, 
135;  tends  to  lessen,  330-1; 
punished  among  ancient  Hin- 
dus, 135;  marriage  with,  con- 
demned among  Kabyles,  182. 
(See  Divorced  women,  Widow.) 

Prostitution,  118-9,  121;  a  check 
on  birth-rate,  51,  among  Point 
Barrow  Eskimo,  55;  by  chiefs 
among  Melanesians,  70,  126; 
punishment  for  being  seduced, 
118,  among  Melanesians,  126; 
a  means  of  dowry  getting,  118, 
among  Melanesians,  126,  127; 
religious,  119,  among  Ewe- 
Speaking  Peoples,  127,  Tshi- 
and  Yoruba-Speaking  Peoples 
129;  among  Yahgan,  122,  an- 
cient Hebrews,  132,  133;  no 
sexual  choice  in,  169;  punish- 
ment for  incest  among  Melan- 
esians, 180,  modern  increase  of, 
330;  evil  of,  345,  347,  348,  349. 
351;  to  be  condemned  in  men, 
350;  reglementation  of,  357. 
(See  Daughter,  Wife.) 

Punaluan  marriage,  147 

Q 

Qur'An,  3.    (See  Arabs  ancient.) 
R 

Rape,  punishment  for,  117,  among 
Kabyles,  131,  ancient  Hebrews, 
132,  133,  Babylonians,  133-4, 
ancient  Hindus,  134,  ancient 
Romans,  135;  as  punishment 
among  Melanesians  125;  pre- 
valent among  Tshi-Speaking 
Peoples,  128;  no  sexual  choice 
in,  169.  (See  Age  of  consent. 
Seduction.) 

Rape  symbol,  19 1-2,  199;  origin 
and  meaning  of,  200-1,  202; 
among  Yoruba-Speaking  Peo- 
ples, 73,  Melanesians,  206, 
Ewe-Speaking  Peoples,  206-7, 
Thompson  River  Indians,  208, 
Kabyles  (?),  210,  ancient  Chin- 
ese, 216-7.     (See  Bride-lifting.) 

Reipus,  141 

Report    of    British    Inter-depart- 


mental Committee  on  Physical 
Deterioration,  28  A''.  2,  52,  99, 

353   N-    I 

Report  of  the  Commissioner  of 
Education  of  the  U.  S.,  356 

Reports  of  the  Cambridge  An- 
thropological Expedition  to 
Torres  Straits,  170,  253,  283 

Reports  of  the  Massachusetts 
Bureau  of  Statistics  of  Labour, 
337.  356 

Reports  of  the  National  Divorce 
Reform  League,  357 

Residence,  separate,  of  children, 
29,  among  Yahgan,  35-6,  of 
youth,  29-30,  among  Melane- 
sians, 38,  180,  of  offspring  at 
marriage,  30,  among  Veddahs, 
35,  Ewe-Speaking  Peoples,  38; 
common,  of  compound  family, 
30  (see  House  community); 
with  wife's  kin,  65,  113,  195, 
196,  278,  281,  among  Behring 
Strait  Eskimo,  70,  Yahgan  203, 
Point  Barrow  Eskimo,  204, 
Central  Eskimo, 205,  Wyandots, 
206,  Thompson  River  Indians, 
209,  origin  of  matriarchate,  285 ; 
of  wives  in  polygyny,  139, 
among  Ewe  -  and  Yoruba- 
Speaking  Peoples,  233,  a  factor 
of  matriarchate,  285;  of  wives 
in  polyandry,  139  ;  in  husband's 
group,  105,  among  Behring 
Strait  Eskimo,  205,  Thompson 
River  Indians,  209,  in  primi- 
tive simple  family,  268 ;  a  factor 
in  avoidance,  174;  effect  of,  on 
marriage,  195-6,  among  Central 
Eskimo,  205.      (See  Husband.) 

Restitution,  of  conjugal  rights, 
action  for,  142 ;  among  Kabyles, 
152;  in  American  law,  160. 
(See  Divorce.) 

R^vesz,   Geza,    146 

Richmond,  19 

Roeder,  4 

Roger,  8 

Romans,  ancient,  4,  32  N.  2,  42, 
59,  60  N.  I,  84-6,  135,  158,  188, 
219-20,  241-2,  265,  326,  338; 
Kinship  system  of,  252;  disin- 
tegration of  patriarchate  among, 
335;  contractual  idea  of  mar- 
riage among,  336,  337 

Rose,  52 

Roth,  Ling,  100,  loi 


Index 


385 


Roth,  Walter  E.,  2 
Rowntree,  27  N.  3,  34,  68 


Sacrifice,  for  offspring,  98,  among 
Melanesians,  io6,  Ewe-  and 
Yoruba-  Speaking  Peoples,  io6; 
couvade  in  lieu  of,  loi.  (See 
Offspring.) 

Salmon,   355 

Sanction,  religious,  165,  333-4; 
among  Thompson  River  In- 
dians, 39,  107,  210,  Behring 
Strait  Eskimo,  55,  291,  ancient 
Arabs,  58,  153-4,  183,  205,  237, 

262,  ancient  Hebrews,  58,  76, 
184,  185,  262,  319-20,  ancient 
Hindus,  58,  79,  80,  109,  134, 
158,    186,    187,   214,   215,   240, 

263,  320-1,  Kabyles,  75,  Aus- 
tralians, 122-3,  204,  Melane- 
sians, 126,  Tshi-Speaking  Peo- 
ples, 128,  129,  Babylonians, 
133;  in  Christian  family,  334-6, 

344,  354 

Sarasin,    i.     (See  Veddahs.) 

Schmidt,   121 

Schouler,  4.  (See  United  States, 
people  of.) 

Schurtz,  33,  34,  306,  308 

Seduction,  action  for,  in  U.  S.  A., 
88,  punishment  for,  117,  among 
Veddahs,  122,  Yahgan,  122, 
Australians,  123,  Melanesians, 
126,  Ewe-Speaking  Peoples, 
1 2 7, Tshi-Speaking  Peoples,  128, 
Thompson  River  Indians,  130, 
Kabyles,  130,  131,  ancient  He- 
brews,   132,    133,    Babylonians, 

133,  ancient  Hindus,  134,  214, 
ancient  Romans,  135;  marriage 
after,  enforced,  117,  among 
Ewe- Speaking  Peoples,  127, 
Tshi-Speaking  Peoples,  128, 
Hebrews,  133,  precluded,  117. 
among  Kabyles,  130;  distinc- 
tion between,  and  rape,  11 7-8, 
among  Kabyles,  131,  ancient 
Hebrews,   133,  ancient  Hindus, 

134,  not  punished,  among  Point 
Barrow  Eskimo,  125 

Seebohm,  306 

Separation,  legal,  143,  331,  in  U. 

S.  A.,  160;  should  be  abolished, 

350.       (See  Divorce) 


Sex  hygiene,   education  in,   347, 

353.  356 
Sex  segregation,  31;  in  games 
among  Australians,  36,  Behring 
Strait  Eskimo,  205,  Thompson 
River  Indians,  210;  in  residence 
among  Australians,  36,  ancient 
Chinese,  41,  218-9,  Behring 
Strait  Eskimo,  205;  in  home 
education,  98,  100,  332,  among 
Melanesians,  180;  to  secure 
chastity,  115,  116,  among  Mel- 
anesians, 71,  206;  to  secure 
fidelity,  1 1 7  ;  a  check  on  sexual 
choice,  166;  among  ancient 
Hindus,  186,  187,  ancient  Chi- 
nese; 219,  in  eating,  192-3,  198, 
among  ancient  Hindus,  240;  in 
economic  pursuits,  198,  222, 
271,280,  among  Australians,  36, 
231,  Point  Barrow  Eskimo,  204, 
231-2,  Yahgan,  231,  Central 
Eskimo,  232,  Thompson  River 
Indians,  234,  ancient  Chinese, 
240-1;  in  sexual  crises.  198-9, 
among  Yahgan, 36, 203, Thomp- 
son River  Indians.  181,  210, 
Point  Barrow  Eskimo,  204, 
Behring  Strait  Eskimo,  205, 
Central  Eskimo,  206,  Tshi- 
Speaking  Peoples,  207 ;  in  pa- 
triarchal family,  303 ;  tendency 
against,  332.  (See  Avoidance, 
Club-houses.) 
Sex  totems,  198  A/^.  3,  200,  269 
Sexual  choice,  68,  161-70;  pre- 
cluded in  infant-betrothal,  63; 
parental  control  of,  64-7,  167, 
199,  among  Yahgan  69,  231, 
Point  Barrow  Eskimo,  70,  179, 
Behring  Strait  Eskimo,  70,  Cen- 
tral Eskimo,  70,  Ewe-Speaking 
Peoples,  71-2,  207,  Tshi-Speak- 
ing Peoples,  72,  Yoruba- Speak- 
ing Peoples,  73,  Thompson 
River  Indians,  74,  207,  Ka- 
byles, 74-5,  152,  ancient  Se- 
mites, 77,  183,  184,  Babylo- 
nians, 78-9,  ancient  Hindus, 
79-80,  186,  213,  214.  ancient 
Romans,  86,  French,  87,  m  U. 
S.  A.,  88-9,  ancient  Chinese 
187-8,  217,  Yahgan,  203,  Aus- 
tralians, 203.  (See  Divorced  wo- 
men. Widow);  importance  of, 
161,  344,  347,  checks  on,  162, 
163-70,    336,     caste    in,     166, 


386 


Index 


Sexual  choice — Continued. 

among  ancient  Hindus,  80,  186, 
Thompson  River  Indians,  181, 
Kabyles,  182,  ancient  Romans, 
188;  freedom  of,  iQi,  among 
ancient  Hindus,  80,  French,  87, 
in  matriarchal  family,  279; 
religion  in,  166,  167,  among 
ancient  Arabs,  131,  183,  Ka- 
byles, 182,  183  ancient  He- 
brews, 184,  ancient  Hindus, 
187,  215;  preferred  traits  in, 
among  Point  Barrow  Eskimo, 
179,  ancient  Hindus,  185-6; 
obligation  to  offspring  in,  332. 
(See  Adoption,  Affinity,  Endog- 
amy Exogamy,  Sex  segregation. 
Sexual  selection.) 

Sexual  control,  g6  N.  2;  for  sake 
of  offspring,  350 

Sexual  hospitality,  among  Aus- 
trahans,  123,  148,  Behring 
Strait  Eskimo,  125,  Central 
Eskimo,  125,  Melanesians,  126, 
Yoruba-Speaking  Peoples,  129; 
polyandry  sometimes  a  devel- 
oped form  of,  139.  (See  Daugh- 
ter,  Wife.) 

Sexual  intercourse,  before  mar- 
riage, 32  N.  I,  precluded  by 
betrothal,  68,  among  Yoruba- 
Speaking  Peoples,  73;  tempo- 
rary, precludes  full  sexual 
choice,  169;  dangerous,  173,  198 

Sexual  selection,  162,  169,  171; 
among  Australians,  148,  177, 
Point  Barrow  Eskimo,  149, 
Behring  Strait  Eskimo,  179, 
Melanesians,  150,  232,  Ewe- 
Speaking  Peoples,  150,  Thomji- 
son  River  Indians,  151,  ancient 
Hebrews,  154-5,  Yahgan,    176 

Sexual  taboo,  198-9, 200;  marriage 
ceremonial  indicative  of  break- 
ing of,  193 

Sister,  protects  adult  brother  a- 
mong  Australians,  37  ,  obhgation 
to  support  unmarried,  61  N.  i ; 
elder,  married  before  younger, 
168,  among  ancient  Hebrews, 
77;  inherits  among  Kabyles, 
236,  ancient  Arabs,  237,  an- 
cient Romans,  242,  Yoruba- 
Speaking  Peoples,  313,  (See 
Avoidance,  Brother,   Polygyny.) 

Skeat,  100 

Slave,     punishment     for    illegiti- 


mate sexual  intercourse  by, 
among  Ewe-Speaking   Peoples, 

127,  Tshi-Speaking      Peoples, 

128,  ancient  Hebrews,  133; 
no  right  of  connubiiim  with, 
among  ancient  Romans,  188, 
right  among  Babylonians,  239 
of  wife  as  concubine ,  223,  among 
Tshi-Speaking  Peoples,i5i,  261, 
ancient  Hebrews,  154,  155,  262, 
Babylonians,  155,  Ewe-Speak- 
ing Peoples,  260;  adopted,  250, 
among  Ewe-Speaking  Peoples, 

260,  Tshi-Speaking     Peoples. 

261,  312 

Smith,  Anna  Tolman,  34,   53 

Smith,  Robertson,  3,  173,  284 

Social  fictions,  about  bride-price, 
67,  among  Melanesians,  70-1, 
Yoruba-Speaking  Peoples,  73, 
ancient  Hindus,  79  ;  of  parental 
ownership  in  U.  S.  A.,  88 

Sodomy,  163 

Son,  inherits  position  of  father,  61 
-V.  I.  among  Australians  288, 
Behring  Strait  Eskimo,  290, 
Melanesians,  309,  Thompson 
River  Indians,  314;  obligation 
to  provide  wife  for,  63,  among 
ancient  Hebrews,  77,  Babylo- 
nians, 78;  comparative  freedom 
of,  in  sexual  choice,  64 ;  does  not 
own  property  among  ancient 
Chinese,  83,  ancient  Romans, 
84,  85-6,  241,  ancient  Hindus, 
239 ;  apprenticed  to  father,  92; 
inheritance  of,  in  highest  stage 
of  parenthood,  93,  94;  (See 
Daughter,  Emancipation  of  off- 
spring. Infant-betrothal,  Inherit- 
ance, Offspring  Sons.) 

Sons,  forms  of  unequal  inheri- 
tance by,  94;  among  Behring 
Strait  Eskimo,  291,  Thompson 
River  Indians,  315,  ancient 
Hebrews,  319,  ancient  Hindus, 
321 

Son-in-law,  service  of,  65,  167, 
among  Australians,  69,  Central 
Eskimo,  70.  (See  Mother-in- 
law,  Parents-in-law.) 

Spencer,  Baldwin,  2,  121,  145,  147 

Spencer,  Herbert,  25,  17a  200, 
201,  254,  256,  307,  343,  355, 
356 

Stanford,  8 

Stanley,  344  N.  2 


Index 


387 


Starcke,  100,  101,  147,  172,  174, 
200,  25s,  256,  285,  286,  357 

State,  punishment  by,  in  modern 
simple  family,  333;  duty  of, 
towards  children,  352-3.  (See 
Group  control.) 

Steinmetz,  iv  iV.  i,  x,  35,  68,  99, 
102,  174,  199.  201,  230,  283, 
306,  357'  359 

Stiles,  121 

Suicide  for  love,  among  Thomp- 
son River  Indians,  74,  208, 
Melanesians,  206 

Sutherland,  23.  24  N.  1,  25,  34 


Tarde,  99 

Teit,  2 

Teknonymy,  95,  97;  origin  and 
meaning  of,  102 

Testacy,  94,  228;  among  ancient 
Rortians,  42,  220,  French,  245. 
(See  Disinheritance.) 

Thomas,  356 

Thompson,  171 

Thompson  River  Indians,  2,  57, 
73-4,  107-8, 130,  181-2,  207-10, 
233-4.   261,  313-17 

Thomson,  357 

Totemism,  34,  269-70,  283,  300, 
334;  leads  to  group  marriage, 
147;  relation  of,  to  exogamy, 
175,  281,  284,  aiBong  Austra- 
lians, 177-8;  among  Australians, 
288,  Behring  Strait  Eskimo, 
291,  Wyandots,  294-5;  sur- 
vivals of,  306,  among  Melane- 
sians, 260,  310,  Tshi-Speaking 
Peoples,  313,  Thompson  River 
Indians,  317;  a  conservative 
influence,   334 

Tribal  confederation,  267,  282 

Tribe,  267;  primitive,  272;  in 
matriarchate,  282;  among  Aus- 
tralians, 289,  Wyandots,  295-6, 
Ewe-Speaking  Peoples,  311, 
Thompson  River  Indians,  314. 
315,  317;  in  patriarchate,  302- 
3.    (See  Endogamy.) 

Trumbull,  4 

Tshi-Speaking  Peoples,  3,  56 
72-3,  106,  128-9,  181,  207,  233, 
260-1,  312-13 

Twins,  infanticide  of,  45,  46;  spe- 
cial treatment  of ,  46  N.  2,  52, 


among  Ewe-Speaking  Peoples. 
56,    Thompson    River    Indians, 

57 
Tylor,  35,  100,  102,  172,   174,  255, 
284,  285,  307 


U 


Unchastity,  a  marriage  qualifica- 
tion, 115;  punishment  for,  115- 
6,  among  Wyandots,  118,  125, 
Melanesians,  126,  ancient  He- 
brews, X32,  133 ;  among  Yahgan, 
122,  Point  Barrow  Eskimo,  124, 
Behring  Strait  Eskimo,  125, 
Tshi-Speaking  Peoples,  128, 
Yoruba-Speaking  Peoples,  129, 
Kabyles,  131;  does  not  in- 
vahdate  marriage  in  U.  S.  A., 
136;  in  primitive  simple  family, 
268,  in  matriarchal  family,  279; 
in  modern  simple  family,  329, 
330;  in  Christianity,  333;  ac- 
companies late  marriage,  347. 
(See  Bride-price,  Chastity.) 

Uncle-niece  marriage,  in  order  to 
retain  family  property,  165; 
paternal,  among  Romans,  188; 
forbidden  among  Central  Es- 
kimo, 1  7Q,  Hindus,  186;  allowed 
among  French  under  special 
circvimstances,  189 

Union  symbols,  193;  among  Mel- 
anesians, 206,  ancient  Chinese, 
215,  216-7.  Veddahs,  202,  an- 
cient Hindus,  214 

United  States,  people  of,  4,  34, 
42-3,  88-9,  136,  160,  220-1, 
245-7;  causes  of  "race-suicide" 
among,  53  ;  child-labour  among, 
68;  legal  restrictions  on  mar- 
riage among,  171;  contractual 
capacity  of  married  women 
partly  unrecognised  among, 
328;  divorce  among,  331  A^.  1, 
334  N.  I,  337;  education 
among,  337,  356 


Vasu-right,  280;  origin  of,  286 

Veblen,  230 

Veddahs,  1,  35,  53,  103,  122,  148, 

176, 202, 257,  287 
Vega,  Garcilasso  de  la,  33,  99,  170 


388 


Index 


Venereal  disease,  119,  356;  trans- 
mission in  marriage  a  penal 
offence,  350;  "race-suicide"  due 
to,  354  N-  I 

Verrijn,  27  jY.  3,  34 

Vickery,  346  ^V.  2 

Village,  280 ;  among  Point  Barrow- 
Eskimo,  289,  Behring  Strait 
Eskimo,  290,  Thompson  River 
Indians,  314 

Village  community,  302,  ^04,  306 

Village  council,  304;  levies  fines 
among  Kabyles,  40,  58,  74, 
130,  131,  152-3,  182,  210-11, 
235.  317.  318-19;  exiles  crim- 
inals among  Kabyles,  130,  318; 
disposes  in  marriage,  168;  pro- 
tects widows  among  Kabyles, 
235,  236 

Virgins,  priests  allowed  to  marry 
only,  167,  among  Hebrews,  185 

Viviparity,  a  progressive  charac- 
ter, 22,  113 


W 


Wake,  147,  175,  201,  257,  284,  307 

Wallace,  171 

Welch,  ancient,  4 

Westermarck,  68,  102,  115  N.  i. 
120,  145,  147.  170.  171.  173' 
198,  199,  200,  201,  230,  231, 
254.  283 

Wet-nursing,  27;  among  Arabs, 
40,  153,  ancient  Chinese,  41. 
(See  Fosterage.) 

Widow,  has  greater  freedom  of 
sexual  choice,  64,  among  Ka- 
byles, 75;  remarriage  of,  64, 
1 40-1,  among  Kabyles,  75,  235, 

236,  ancient  Arabs,  211,  Baby- 
lonians, 238,  239,  French,  242, 
condemned  among  ancient  Hin- 
dus, 135,  240,  ancient  Chinese, 
218;  inheritance  by,  66  .V.  i, 
226,  227,  among  Yahgan,  103, 

231,  Behring    Strait    Eskimo, 

232,  Thompson  River  Indians, 
234,  Kabyles,  235,  236,  ancient 
Arabs,    237,   ancient   Hebrews, 

237,  Babylonians,  238,  ancient 
Romans,  242;  prostitution  of, 
among  Melanesians,  126;  im- 
molation of,  140,  224,  among 
Ewe,  Tshi-,  Yoruba-Speaking 
Peoples,  233,  ancient  Chinese, 
241,  324;  mourning  of,  141,  146, 


224,  among  Thompson  River 
Indians,  209,  Tshi-Speaking 
Peoples,  233;  bride-price  of, 
1 61-2,  224  (see  Rcipus); 
inherited,  164.  224,  226,  an;ong 
Kabyles,  75,  Ewe-Speaking  Peo- 

?les,  180,  233,  Thompson  River 
ndians,  182,  234,  Melanesians, 
232,  Yoruba-Speaking  Peoples, 
233;  marriage  with,  through 
poverty,  168,  among  Yahgan, 
177;  residence  of,  227.  among 
ancient  Hebrews,  41,  Kabyles, 
130,  236,  319,  Melanesians, 
232,  ancient  Arabs,  237,  Baby- 
lonians, 238,  Central  Eskimo, 
294;  does  not  inherit  among 
Point  Barrow  Eskimo,  232 

Widower,  mourning  of,  141, 
amongfThompson  River  Indians, 
209;  immolation  of,  of  royal 
wife,  among  Tshi  -  Speaking 
Peoples,  151 

Wife,  relation  between,  and  mo- 
ther, 94,  138,  144,  145,  229; 
sohcitude  for,  96  N.  2,  197, 
among  Australians,  104;  killing. 
116,  118,  196,  224,  among 
Ewe-Speaking  Peoples,  127, 
Tshi-Speaking  Peoples,  128, 
Yoruba-Speaking  Peoples,  129, 
Kabyles,  130,  211 ;  beating,  117, 
196,  among  Behring  Strait  Es- 
kimo, 125,  Melanesians,  126, 
Tshi-Speaking  Peoples,  128, 
Yoruba-Speaking  Peoples,  129, 
Point  Barrow  Eskimo,  149,  204, 
Australians,  204,  ancient  Arabs, 
211;  selling,  117,  196,  224, 
among  Babylonians,  77,  for- 
bidden among  ancient  Hebrews, 
155,  Babylonians,  157,  ancient 
Hindus,  240,  among  ancient 
Hindus,  158,  Kabyles,  182,  235; 
imprisonment,  117,  196,  among 
ancient  Arabs  131,  211,  ancient 
Hindus,  157-8,  ancient  Heb- 
rews, 185;  lending,  118,  224, 
among  Australians,  123,  124, 
148.  178,  Point  Barrow  Eskimo 

124,  Behring    Strait    Eskimo, 

125,  Central  Eskimo,  125,  Ewe- 
Speaking  Peoples,  127,  Tshi-  and 
Yoruba-Speaking  Peoples,  129; 
prostitution  of,  118,  among 
Tshi-Speaking  Peoples,  129,  an- 
cient    Hindus,     135,    case    of 


Index 


389 


among  ancient  Hebrews,  212; 
effect  of  ancestor-worship  on, 
197,  200,  302,  among  ancient 
Chinese,  188,  216,  217,  218,  an- 
cient Hindus,  2 1 5  ;  seclusion  of , 
200,  among  ancient  Hindus, 
134,  214,  in  Dahomi,  150-1. 
among  ancient  Arabs,  211 ;  vio- 
lated for  adultery  by  husband, 
224,  among  Kabyles.  131 ;  owns 
property  among  Point  Barrow 
Eskimo,  232,  Ewe-  and  Yoruba- 
Speaking  Peoples,  233,  Thomp- 
son River  Indians,  234,  Wyan- 
dots,  294  (see  Matrimonial 
property);  liable  for  husband, 
228,  among  Babylonians,  238. 
(See  Head-wife,  Husband,  Mari- 
tal Discipline  et  sq.,  Residence, 
Wives.) 
Wilcox,  357 

Wilken,  loi,  201,  254,  283 
Wilutzky,  67,  145,  199,  230 
Wives,  subordination  among,  138, 
197,  among  Point  Barrow  Es- 
kimo, 149,  Behring  Strait  Es- 
kimo, 149,  Wyandots,  150, 
Ewe-  Tshi-  Yoruba  -  Speaking 
Peoples,  151,  ancient  Hindus, 
157;  number  of,  among  Yahgan, 
148,  Point  Barrow  Eskimo,  149, 
Behring  Strait  Eskimo,  149, 
Central  Eskimo,  150,  Melane- 
sians,  150,  Thompson  River 
Indians,  151,  ancient  Hebrews, 
134;  division  of  labour  among, 
169,  223.  among  Ewe-  and 
Yoruba-Speaking  Peoples,  151; 
lutist  belong  to  different  clans 


among  Wyandots,  180.  (See 
Concubinage ,  Residence . ) 

Wolf,  27  A/^.  3,  99 

Wollstonecraft,  357 

Women,  excluded  from  initiation 
ceremonial  among  Yahgan, 
36,  Melanesians,  125;  no  crime 
swearing  falsely  to,  among  Hin- 
dus, 214;  proprietary  character 
of,  93,  140,  224,  281,  347  N.  I ; 
juridical  position  of,  228,  276, 
337,  among  French,  244,  245,  in 
U.  S.  A.,  246;  position  of,  in 
government,  228-9,  among 
Thompson  River  Indians,  210 
{seeGynocracy) ;  suffrage  of ,  229, 
346  N.  I ;  may  not  contract, 
328-9,  among  Kabyles,  236-7, 
French,  245.  in  U.  S.  A.,  246; 
own  property  among  ancient 
Arabs,  13 1-2,  Point  Barrow  Es- 
kimo, 232,  Kabyles,  236,  237, 
ancient  Hindus,  240  (see  Daugh- 
ter, Wife);  effect  of  Christ- 
ianity on,  334-5;  emancipation 
of.  335.  346,  357;  education  of, 
346,  356 

Wright,  27  N.  3,  68,  145,  146,  171, 
331  N. I,  337 

Wyandots,  2,  125,  150,  179-80, 
206,   294—6 


Yahgan,  2,  35-6,  53-4,  69,  122, 
148,  176-7,  202-3,  231,  258, 
287-8 

Yoruba-Speaking  Peoples,  73, 106, 
129-30,  181,  307,  233,  261,  313 


V 


/' 


\ 


o    TMf  UBS/. 


THE  LIBRARY 
IINIVERSITY  01    (  AI.IKORNIA 

Santa  Barbara 


THIS  BOOK  IS  1)1  K  ON  TIIF  LAST  DATE 
STAMPED  BELOW. 


N^lEl^  JUN 07 1996 
RET'd  JUNO?  1996  5 


o    Of  CAtlfO 


54 


lOOM  11/86  Series  9482 


-AlIFDRNIA     « 


V 


^ 


m 


/ 


»  SANTA  eAKBARA  * 


